The article constructs a narrative of strategic vulnerability centered around the Strait of Hormuz, employing a classic “motte-and-bailey” technique: presenting a small, easily dismissed concern (Iranian activity) as a looming existential threat (disruption of global oil supplies). The factual brief – the decommissioning of Navy ships – is presented as a decisive action, when in reality, it’s a cost-benefit calculation influenced by existing anxieties. The implication that Iran *might* be laying...