Israeli public opinion on Iran war; what is moving through the Strait of Hormuz?

0:00This message comes from EasyCater, the workplace food platform. EasyCater helps organizations order food from favorite restaurants, meet dietary needs, and stay on budget. with employee meal programs, flexible payment options, and 24-7 customer support all on one platform. Learn more at easycater.com. Today on State of the World, Israeli public opinion on the Iran War, and what is moving through the Strait of Hormuz?

0:32You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. It's Tuesday, March 24th. I'm Greg Dixon. In a few minutes, we'll hear about which ships are being allowed to travel the maritime chokepoint controlled by Iran. First, support for the war in Iran is extremely high among Israeli Jews. But as NPR's Kerry Kahn found out, frequent strikes by Iran disrupting lives, killing at least 15 so far, has taken a toll. Workers sweep up piles of broken glass at the large indoor mall in Arad. It's just across the street from where an Iranian missile hit Saturday night as 50-year-old Oren Gaspelker shift as the mall security guard was ending.

1:21The sound of the fire go to the shelter and I heard boom and all the dust inside. Dust filled the bunker and the children in there began crying, he said. you could feel the bomb shockwaves roar through the building and hear glass shattering everywhere. Goss Belker says from day one, he supported the war in Iran. We started it and yes, we need to finish them. All this regime, all this radical Muslim regime. Despite the destruction all around town, residents are defiant. In sheer as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's motorcade whizzes by, and when President Isaac Herzog visits a local bakery. Israeli Jews are nearly unanimous in their support for the war, according to public opinion polls.

2:12In the first week, in two separate polls, more than 90 percent of Israeli Jews approved of Israel's strikes on Iran and the assassination of its top leaders. Dalia Shenlin, a public opinion researcher and columnist, says Israelis have shown deep political division over the past years, especially during the war in Gaza. But when it comes to Iran, they are more unified. The perceived threat of Iran seems to rise above some of the deepest political divisions in Israeli life. But we don't know how long that effect will last. Polls are already showing slight cracks in that unity as millions of Israelis continue spending hours in bomb shelters.

2:53Rebecca Ash and her husband Itay Hatam are making espressos in their apartment in Renana in central Israel. We've made so much coffee the last three weeks, we know what we're doing. They have three kids stuck at home and live on the fifth floor. Getting everyone down to the bunker is tough, especially in the middle of the night. They're exhausted. But Ash says it will be worth it for a more secure Israel. It's about making the world in its entirety safer. And it's hard to see how something you think is so true is not perceived as such by so many people across the world. Hatam, however, isn't as optimistic.

3:31There's internal reasons for war in Israel that would be good for the government. He doesn't trust Netanyahu's motivations for the war. That cynicism is gaining ground. Another siren sounds in a Tel Aviv neighborhood. We've got to get into the shelter. Yes. We were a little late. You're a little late too. Oh my gosh, let's go.

4:00However, this time the gap between the siren and interceptor stopping the Iranian missile was short. We made it. That was scary. How are you doing? I'm not sleeping, so I'm super tired all the time. It's like a state of tiredness that wouldn't leave me. Romi, who asked we only use her first name so she could speak publicly about her politics without retribution, says she was more hopeful at the beginning of the war that life in Israel would be safer. I'm afraid that it's just going to be for nothing. And the Iranians will still be caged by this regime and the Middle East will just be more and more angry.

4:47Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

4:54There are more than 1 ,000 ships, mostly oil tankers, sitting. They're waiting near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the world's shipping. Iranian attacks have forced them to wait until it's safe to pass. But the Strait is not closed off for everyone. NPR's Jackie Northam tells us who's getting through and why. During times of peace, about 130 ships would cross the narrow Strait of Hormuz each day. But since the war in Iran broke out, that number has plummeted to four or five vessels a day. Most of those are either owned or flagged in Iran. But Bridget Daikun, a senior analyst at Lloyd's List, the shipping industry news provider, said recently there's been other activity in the strait.

5:37We have in the last several days seen some vessels linked directly to India's government and Pakistan's government going through. And we're also now getting word that China is potentially pushing or there is going to be a push for China state-linked vessels to pass through. Several governments, including India, China and Iraq, are in negotiations with Tehran about coordinating ship transit, according to Lloyd's List. Dai Kun, speaking at an event by the International Institute of Strategic Studies, says it's unclear what criteria is being used. I would say there's not a ton of evidence to suggest that anyone has a free pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

6:17I think if there were proper negotiated agreements broadly, we would see a lot more vessels moving. I mean, it's still only like four or five ships. It's not a huge, huge volume. Daikun says the ships that got through were grilled by Iran about ownership, ports of call, and any affiliation with the U.S. or Israel. Jim Crane is an energy research fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute, specializing in the Middle East. He says this is similar to the situation a few years ago in Yemen, when Iranian-aligned Houthis attacked ships in the Red Sea in retaliation for the Gaza War. It looks like the Iranians have sort of taken a page from the Houthi playbook here, giving sort of selective access to the Strait of Hormuz, to friendly ships or crews or owners from, you know, countries that have expressed sympathy or neutrality with their goals.

7:15and blocking all those that they deem hostile. Harrison Preta is deputy director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He says Iran appears to have opened up an auxiliary channel for vessels. Preta says Iranians are diverting ships closer to its coast. Normally, they go right down the middle of the strait, where there's more room. This other route is a more narrow channel. It appears to be able to accommodate large vessels because we saw the Pakistani tanker, for example, use it. And a few other vessels that are flagged to the Marshall Islands, Panama.

7:52We've seen a handful of ships use this route in the past couple of days. Hrita says this is Iran demonstrating it can control the flow of traffic through one of the most strategically important waterways in the world. Omayoun Falakshahi, who leads the crude analysis team at Kepler, a global trade intelligence provider, says he doesn't expect hundreds more ships to cross the Strait of Hormuz anytime soon. Even though we're seeing some tankers pass through, some non-Iranian tankers, I think most of the industry is still in a very cautious mode because of all the other incidents that we've seen. I think in total, Iran has hit nearly 20 tankers.

8:33So I think basically the risk is still too high. The situation around the Strait of Hormuz could get even more precarious if the U.S. sends in Marines to help open the waterway. Jackie Northam, NPR News.

8:52That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening. This message comes from Mint Mobile. If you're tired of spending hundreds on big wireless bills, bogus fees and free perks mint mobile might be right for you with plans starting from 15 bucks a month shop plans today at mintmobile.com slash switch upfront payment of 45 for three month five gigabyte plan required new customer offer for first three months only then full price plan options available taxes and fees extra see mint mobile for details this message comes from easy cater the workplace food platform easy cater helps organizations order food from favorite restaurants meet dietary needs, and stay on budget.

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