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US Military Developing Plans to Strike Iran's Strait of Hormuz Defenses if Ceasefire Fails

The United States military is developing new strike plans targeting Iran's defenses around the Strait of Hormuz — in the event the current ceasefire with Iran falls apart, according to CNN's sources.

The options under consideration are focused on what military planners call dynamic targeting — strikes aimed at Iran's small fast attack boats, mine-laying vessels, and other assets that Tehran has used to effectively shut down the strait and surrounding waterways. That shutdown has caused significant disruption to global shipping and threatens to drive up prices for American consumers, complicating President Trump's efforts to reduce inflation.

The first month of US bombing largely focused on targets deeper inside Iran. The new plans call for a much more concentrated campaign around the strait itself, the southern Arabian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman. But CNN's sources cautioned that military strikes alone are unlikely to reopen the waterway quickly. One source familiar with the planning told CNN the key variable is how much risk the President is willing to accept before pushing commercial ships through.

CNN previously reported that a large share of Iran's coastal defense missiles remain intact, and that Iran still has numerous small boats capable of threatening vessels in the strait.

On Thursday, the situation grew more urgent. The New York Post and Axios reported that US officials believe Iran has been caught laying additional mines in the Strait of Hormuz — even as the ceasefire remains in place. President Trump responded on Truth Social, ordering minesweeping operations to be tripled and directing the Navy to shoot and kill any Iranian vessel caught dropping mines. At least four US anti-mine ships are already in the region, and the Wall Street Journal reported that underwater drones have also been deployed. Fully clearing the strait, however, could take as long as six months, according to a report the Pentagon disputed.

Beyond the strait, CNN reported that military planners have developed additional contingencies. One option calls for strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure to pressure Tehran back to the negotiating table. Another involves targeting individual Iranian military leaders identified as actively undermining the negotiations — including Ahmad Vahidi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Trump posted on social media Thursday pointing to what he described as a deepening split inside the Iranian government — between hardliners he said are losing badly on the battlefield and moderates gaining influence. He called it one of the main obstacles standing in the way of a diplomatic resolution.

And on a question that has followed the conflict since the opening night — Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday that a nuclear strike on Iran is off the table. Trump said the US had, in his words, decimated Iran in a conventional way and asked why anyone would resort to a nuclear weapon. He added that a nuclear weapon should never be used by anybody.
Records reveal MAWSS settlement terms

Records obtained by Lagniappe show the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System settled its legal fight with the state over Big Creek Lake by committing to keep the reservoir accessible.

READ MORE : Records reveal MAWSS settlement terms | Mobile County | lagniappemobile.com
‘Slim to none’: House Pro-Tem Pringle says Alabama congressional redistricting unlikely before 2030

It’s unlikely that Alabama will be able to redraw its congressional map within the decade like other states, according to House Pro-Tem Chris Pringle (R-Mobile).

The State of Alabama is still defending its congressional map, which legislators approved in 2023. A special master hired by a three-judge panel in Birmingham redrew the map for the 2024 congressional elections after Democrats and liberal groups were successful in their initial legal challenge. The issue is still being litigated. The new map resulted in Democrats picking up one seat in Alabama in Congressional District 2 with U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Mobile) in 2024.

U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco and U.S. District Judge Terry Moorer ruled the 2023 plan violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

In August, a federal court barred Alabama from redrawing its current, court-ordered congressional map again until 2030.

Virginia voters narrowly passed a redistricting referendum on Tuesday that redrew the state’s congressional map to make 10 of the 11 seats likely Democrat. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also called a special session on redistricting.

Pringle, chair of the Permanent Legislative Reapportionment Committee, told 1819 News on Wednesday that chances of Alabama lawmakers drawing a new map before 2030 were “slim to none.”

“The three-judge federal panel that ruled against us. They didn’t just rule against us on the Section 2 violation. They ruled against us on a 14th Amendment violation. Then they enjoined us from redrawing our districts until after the 2030 Census and they also held jurisdiction over the decision so any appeal has to go to them,” Pringle said. “(Former Alabama Solicitor General) Eddie LaCour blew that case so bad and made those judges so angry they built a wall around the state of Alabama. You go back and read my comments. When they handed down the ruling in the Singleton case, my comment was, ‘This ruling will haunt the state of Alabama for decades.’ Eddie LaCour made those judges so angry, they put a ruling out that built a wall around us that we can’t redraw.”

A favorable opinion by the U.S. Supreme Court in a Louisiana redistricting case dealing with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act likely wouldn’t change anything for Alabama, according to Pringle.

“Even if they overturn Section 2, we have a 14th Amendment violation. Everybody is looking at the Louisiana case, even if the Supreme Court changes Section 2, we’ve got a 14th Amendment violation,” Pringle said. “Those judges, they built a wall around the state that the chances of us having the ability to redraw before the 2030 Census are slim to none because we’d have to get those same judges to lift their order that we can’t redraw. I don’t see those judges changing their order. They worked too hard to get from a Section 2 to a 14th Amendment violation to lock us down.”

‘Slim to none’: House Pro-Tem Pringle says Alabama congressional redistricting unlikely before 2030