Turkey is now the third-largest exporter of small arms globally, a fact that gives Erdogan's gift of engraved pistols to NATO leaders a clear marketing dimension.
Iran struck at least seven commercial ships in the past week in the Strait of Hormuz, killing, wounding, or leaving missing nearly a dozen crew members.
The US launched a fourth round of overnight strikes targeting dozens of Iranian military sites along the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command said the latest round of strikes lasted seven hours and targeted Iranian naval capabilities and defense systems.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard threatened to block the Bab El Mandeb Strait, a vital waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, which would halt Middle East oil exports.
President Trump walked back a threat to impose a 20% fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz after consultations with Gulf allies.
Iran has hit at least seven commercial ships in the past week, damaging some, with the US reporting nearly a dozen crew members killed, wounded, or missing.
Ship transit through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed to around a dozen per day, down from 30–40 a day several weeks ago and well below the 130 before the war started.
Retired military officers and analysts say the US would need to increase its strikes on Iranian military targets by a factor of three or four for weeks to reduce the threat to commercial shipping.
Iran possesses thousands of drones and missiles, as well as fast boats that can lay mines, making full suppression of the threat extremely difficult.
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