https://x.com/MarkTMcDevitt/status/2039434148364882156

Looks like Iran is slowly dismantling UAE's oil & gas infrastructure.

I wasn't joking when I said local uncs in Iran were shooting at Black Hawks with bolt action rusty Mosins

https://tankie.tube/w/iuhFxyERVdwfBRbCuXsxNq

https://xcancel.com/IntCyberDigest/status/2039626088226140169

Lockheed Martin has allegedly been breached and 375TB of data is being offered for sale on what appears to be a Russian 'Threat Market'. They've priced the highly confidential data at $598 million...

To be honest, I don’t believe this is real. The marketplace/threat actor is new and doesn’t have a track record. We asked Lockheed Martin for a comment. Stay tuned.

The Pentagon is claiming 365 injured and still just 13 dead. I guess they'll stick wit that Last Supper number until after Easter.

365 service members have been wounded in action in Iran war - AP update

As of Friday, 247 of the wounded were Army soldiers, 63 were Navy sailors, 19 were Marines and 36 were Air Force airmen, according to Pentagon data available online. It is unclear if the data includes any of the service members involved in the downing of two combat aircraft reported Friday. Most of the wounded — 200 — were also mid to senior enlisted troops, 85 were officers and 80 were junior enlisted service members.

The current death toll remains at 13 service members killed in combat.

Thousands of people across Burkina Faso are mobilizing in the streets to commemorate the First Anniversary of the Progressive Popular Revolution (RPP). On April 1, Captain Ibrahim Traoré presided over a flag-raising ceremony at the Palace of Koulouba which included the launch of the National Days of Patriotic Engagement and Citizen Participation (JEPPC).

I highly recommend reading the full analysis and translation of Traoré's speech from PSL

Some paraphrased highlights:

• His speech outlined what makes a revolutionary is (1) love of people and peace, (2) fighting oppression and (3) seeking out knowledge to advance and support 1 and 2.

• They will soon release a "revolution manifesto" to go into this in more detail.

• A primary focus of all revolutionary Burkinabé people during this stage will be to boost domestic production and consumption.

https://xcancel.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2040298334259151141

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reportedly "paranoid" about losing his job, which Trump Admin officials say contributed to the firing of the US Army’s top general on Thursday, per NY Post. Details include:

1. Trump Admin officials say Pete Hegseth is worried about Army Secretary Dan Driscoll taking his job
2. Hegseth on Thursday demanded the resignation of Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, Driscoll’s top aide, for reasons that were not publicly stated
3. "This is all driven by the insecurity and paranoia that Pete has developed since Signalgate," an official said
4. "It has really gotten under Hegseth’s skin. He is trying to make everyone around Driscoll suffer for no reason," an official said

There seem to be growing tensions at the Department of War.

Not really news per se, so apologies for that, but I wanted to share ArmchairWarlord's theory of what has happened over the last few days with the pilot thing - I think it's the most plausible explanation as most others have gaping inexplicable holes or rely on strange coincidences, but perhaps people here have other explanations. Simplicius and others are coming to very similar conclusions.

In summary:

Thoughts?

I've seen others generally agree with the idea but contest aspects of this narrative. For example, it's possible that indeed only two Special Forces aircraft were flown in for the mission and that three other aircraft were sent in later. It's possible that the landing site chosen by Special Forces was actually forced upon them due to air defense kicking in as they approached (which would perhaps explain why they were still a good number of kilometers from the nuclear facility, though apparently they did bring helicopters). It's possible that the two aircraft landed very hard to the point they were disabled, though most/everybody on the planes survived.

Regardless of exactly what happened, though, this conflict is being very badly managed by the US and I wish many more "wildly successful missions" like this, or however Vance put it, for the US military. Go for Kharg with something like this next, please.

Traders place large $950 million bet on oil price falling hours ahead of ceasefire

it's all insider trading, isn't it?

what strikes me as the most odd thing from all this is; if they extracted the motherfucker, why not show him? is he full of shrapnel or some shit and they can't show him on camera? when they got Maduro they got their little victory photos out and published in less than a few hours, but they can't show mister compressed spine all safe and sound?

so, some days ago I mentioned the idea that Americans completely failed to notice what actually happened in Iraq in the 2010s during the anti-ISIS war, and are still under the impression that they have a loyal puppet state in Iraq, and, well... https://xcancel.com/DavidLiptonWI/status/2040891090270556454

The U.S. “folding” (not really - Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq were all unqualified wins for the U.S.) after decades of war with minimal costs to the U.S. and paralyzing their economy is really just proof of US divine providence. In Iraq - the U.S. won a permanent military presence, control over the oil money (via the development fund for Iraq), a rump Kurdistan state, and a regime change for competitive elections. In Afghanistan, the U.S. won a permanent dysfunctional economy as retaliation for 9/11. In Vietnam, a permanent dysfunctional economy that eventually opened up to the U.S. and is now America’s little bitch because they were scared shitless by memories of the 1970s

"permanent military presence" MOST OF WHICH LITERALLY JUST FLED IRAQ WITH THEIR TAILS TUCKED BETWEEN THEIR LEGS

"rump Kurdistan state" WHICH HAS BEEN GETTING HAMMERED BY IRAN FOR A MONTH NOW (and wasn't able to actually successfully be used in a scheme to launch a ground incursion into Iran anyway, so, uh, what's the point of it exactly?)

"control over the oil money" well, good thing nothing has happened since that might impact Iraq's ability to export its oil...

"regime change for competitive elections" what does this even mean?

"In Vietnam, a permanent dysfunctional economy that eventually opened up to the U.S. and is now America’s little bitch" https://hexbear.net/post/8026521/7032437

also, love how "permanent dysfunctional economy as retaliation for 9/11" is somehow a strategic end. I guess if you're a demon?

American powers of self-delusion are truly unmatched, you could have Chinese troops parading down Wall Street, Red Alert 2 style and Americans would still manage to convince themselves that they've won somehow

Iranian Foreign Ministry:

• "The US’s terrorist acts in Iran show it has removed diplomacy from its agenda."

• "Negotiations are incompatible with ultimatums or threats of committing war crimes."

• "The US places no value on regional security, with its sole concern being the preservation of the Israeli entity."

• "Tehran has formulated its diplomatic response to the US and will announce it at the appropriate time."

• "A temporary ceasefire would only serve to prepare for continued aggression; Iran calls for a full end to the war and its repetition."

• "The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Isfahan operation was a diversion aimed at stealing uranium, but it failed."

• "The Isfahan operation was a scandal and a disaster for the United States, and Iran hopes it has learned a lesson from it."

I feel like we need a pinned comment or something reminding people to remain calm and not just be a doomer about everything. People were dooming about nukes, then they were dooming about the ceasefire, now many of those same people are dooming about the ceasefire being broken, something many of us thought would happen. If you truly, honestly believe that things are so hopeless, that the US and Israel are truly undefeatable titans who cannot ever be stopped, then why are you even on here? Why are you even a communist if you clearly think communism won't win and the US will reign forever? A revolution isn't a dinner party, and neither is a war. A war isn't a fucking video game, and neither is a revolution. If you're suffering from a bout of doomerism, go outside, touch grass, build community, talk to your neighbours, spend less time online, join an org, especially join an org if you're all doom and gloom.

Doomerism isn't proper analysis, it's depression disguised as analysis. It does nothing but encourage inaction in you and others, it's wrecker shit, don't be a wrecker, you're better than that.

BREAKING: President Trump requested a plan to seize nearly 1,000 lbs of highly enriched uranium from Iran. The U.S. military briefed him on a complex operation involving airlifting excavation equipment, building a runway inside Iran for cargo planes to extract the material, and potentially deploying hundreds of troops. - WaPo

Trump's chief of staff was "concerned aides were... telling Trump what he wanted to hear instead of what he needed to hear. " -Time

The President has begun many recent mornings watching video clips compiled by military officials of battlefield successes.

"Trump told them he wants to wind down the campaign, wary of a protracted conflict that could hobble Republicans heading into the midterms. At the same time, he wants the operation to be a decisive success. "

"As preparations for the war began, the Administration believed it had a winning formula. The U.S. would deliver an opening strike so overwhelming Tehran’s only viable response would be limited retaliation—enough to satisfy domestic audiences without inviting more attacks."

"Hegseth was among those taken aback, says the person familiar with his thinking: “He was expecting the Iranians to fight back in some form. When they started attacking virtually the entire region, it sort of hit him like, ‘Whoa, we’re really in this now.’”

"Trump became wary enough of leaks that some of his own aides were the target of subterfuge. On Feb. 27, he traveled to Mar-a-Lago. Aides assembled in a makeshift Situation Room. Trump bristled at the number of people present. “He thought the group was too big,” one official recalls; it included people Trump didn’t recognize or didn’t feel he knew well enough."

https://time.com/article/2026/04/02/trump-iran-off-ramp/

My theory is that both sides know exactly what they agreed to, which is a variant of Iran's ten demands or whatever. What the Epstein Axis is banking on is that Iran pulls a 2024 Hezbollah and keeps adhering to the ceasefire while the US and Israel keep breaking it. Iran were happy to sign this agreement quickly because it gave them some very favourable terms, but the problem is that US and Israel obviously don't fucking care about this ceasefire, they only offered it to dupe Iran into signing something that restrains their ability to respond for a while.

https://xcancel.com/Aelthemplaer/status/2040822714605109698

Spotted flying at low level over western Iran this morning; a C-295W from the USAF’s 427th Special Operations Squadron, a clandestine unit that reportedly specializes in infiltration and exfiltration into enemy territory.

um. why are they still flying search and rescue planes if they recovered the pilot?

flying the entire US airforce bit-by-bit into Iran in an endless chain of rescue of the rescue team who were rescuing the rescue team who were

THIS is the advantage of communism. Decommodifying energy allows for a transition to alternate sources without the profit motive of oil companies holding the nation back. When there is an energy shortage, the state can adapt. China will decarbonize even sooner!

(No link bc it's al jazeera live feed and I'm a lib)

Relevant quote from Socialist Reconstruction by the PSL:

German Men up to the age of 45 need to request approval from the Military for stays abroad that last longer than 3 month

Men between the ages of 17 and 45 apparently need to obtain permission from the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) if they wish to leave Germany for more than three months, as a result of changes to conscription regulations. According to the "Frankfurter Rundschau," this rule previously only applied in crisis situations, but has been permanently in effect since January 1, 2026.

Reuters: China and Russia veto U.N. resolution on protecting Hormuz shipping

Good choice. The watered-down resolution still called for "defensive" military escorts of ships through the Strait, so if Iran continued enforcing its control, it could turn into a UN-backed war.

Trump really did do exactly what Ryan Grim suggested he do hours earlier: pretend Iran's ten-point plan is a new proposal, counting on the fact that the media hasn't been reporting on Iran's demands to make it look like a new offer Tehran put forward in desperation.

https://x.com/caitoz/status/2041683813911453935

Iran's air defenses command stated that Washington bombed its own troops after Iranian forces encircled them:

After Iran's fighters completed the encirclement — the contemptible enemy, in order to prevent the disgrace of Trump and preserve the hollow prestige of their army, was forced to heavily bomb their own downed aircraft, equipment, commanders, and soldiers.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20260406/us-bombed-its-own-aircraft-during-rescue-mission-in-iran--irgc-1123950491.html

I just can't see how that rescue operation can actually be seen as an unquestionably good thing for the US, even if it was as successful as the NYT reports. If this tally is correct, then the US just spent easily more than a billion to rescue an airman who had no reason to be there in the first place. In fact, this is now the pattern for measuring success and setting goals for the US; the mission objective is to undo all the fuckups that had no reason to have ever happened in the first place, if only this unjustified war had never started.

Not only that, but this victory is arguably the one with the most compelling narrative. It's real action movie shit, a pilot stuck behind enemy lines, being relentlessly chased by crazy eye-raynian ayy-rabs and then badass spec-ops Tier 1 Operatos swoop in and whisk him away to safety in the dead of night. The screenplay writes itself. This is an irresistible story for an US audience, and that includes the people in the upper echelons of the government and military.

In other words, they just barely managed to succeed at a very expensive limited incursion over the course of one night, with a very specific objective to rescue one dude who can just lie down inside a helicopter and wait. This is orders of magnitude easier than either A) seizing half a ton of toxic, radioactive materials after setting up a digging operation over the course of several days, if not weeks; or B) landing on an island where the defenders have nowhere to run and will fight to the death, then seizing it and holding it while under constant bombardment from the mainland.

The way I see it, what this means is that if there was any doubt whatsoever about whether or not they should just do another heroic mission against all odds and send troops to seize either Kharg or the nuclear materials in Isfahan or whatever else they have in mind, this operation will probably tip them over towards actually going on whatever suicide mission they pick.

Also, I can't wait to see Trump openly disrespect the pilot who got shot down over Iran.

The markets loved Trump's speech

BREAKING: US oil prices surge above $112/barrel, now up +13% on the day.

https://xcancel.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2039686260399182280#m

A ship owned by France’s CMA CGM has passed out of the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the first vessel owned by a major western shipping line known to have made safe passage since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

The vessel passed around Larak Island close to the coast of Iran, using a route that has become common for ships making the transit and which has become part of a system used by Iran to visually verify crossings, according to maritime executives and analysts.

So, with France (alongside Russia and China) blocking a resolution in the UN Security Council to sanction the use of force to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with this, a French company (the owner of which has very close ties to Macron) traversing the strait with its transponder on, clearly getting inspected by Iran, points to Something afoot with the euros.

Per Financial Times https://archive.is/wLGvM

https://xcancel.com/Pataramesh/status/2040854666532061221

Just to keep track of KOWN U.S./Israeli Airpower losses & out-of-service cases

• 2 F-15 (claimed friendly fire)
• 1 F-15 (Kuwaiti F-18?)
• 1 KC-135 (claimed shot down by Iraqi militias)
• 1 KC-135 (damaged, claimed mid-air collision)
• ~20-30 Hermes-900 (claimed by Iran)
• ~10 Heron family (claimed by Iran)
• ~20-24 MQ-9 Reaper
• 1 KC-135 (heavily damaged on the ground)
• 3 KC-135 (damaged on the ground)
• 1 F-35 (heavily damaged/crash-landed)
• 1 F/A-18E (light damage by SAM)
• 1 KC-135 (destroyed on the ground)
• 2-3 KC-135 (claimed damaged on the ground)
• 1 E-3 AWACS (destroyed on the ground)
• 1 E-3 AWACS (claimed damaged on the ground)
• 2 EC-130H (claimed destroyed on the ground)
• 1 UH-60 Blackhawk (hit by Iraqi FPV drone)
• 1 F-15E (shot down)
• 1 A-10 (shot down over Strait of Hormuz)
• 1 A-10 (damaged & crashed, northern P. Gulf)
• 1 HH-60 (hit and crash-landed in Iraq)
• 1 HH-60 (hit by small arms, damaged)
• 1 CH-47 (hit on the ground, irreparably damaged)
• 2 HC-130 (hit/destroyed on the ground by U.S.)
• 4 MH-6 (destroyed on the ground by U.S.)

There almost certainly notably more losses of aircrafts in Israel & Jordan as well as those in hangars in the Persian Gulf Arab U.S. bases. ➡️ Everyone is invited for corrections, additions and cost calculations in the comments

The fourth round of Iranian missiles in the last hour just hit Israel. Missile travel time to Israel is 15 minutes at most. And at least for now, no one seems to give a shit. This is a positive sign, even conservatives seem to care less about Israel now.

https://xcancel.com/AryJeay/status/2041968968748167439

A lot of anger among Iranians tonight for ceasefire violation in Lebanon. I was at one of the night gatherings and this guy told me: “We don’t want this cursed ceasefire if our brothers & sisters in Lebanon are being slaughtered. They stood by us, now we should stand by them.”

really hoping the reformist faction completely loses support and gets ran out of the country at this point

https://xcancel.com/AryJeay/status/2041941054438433271

Not a single reformist got a small scratch during this all out war. None of them.

True. A yellow taxi driver, yesterday, told me that if you want to stay alive in Iran, there are 2 places where you’ll be 100% safe: Hassan Rouhani’s home and Zarif’s home 😂

Et tu, Nippon ?

Defense Minister Israel Katz: "The IDF has now strongly attacked the largest petrochemical facility in Iran located in Asaluyeh. Now the two facilities, which together are responsible for about 85% of Iran's petrochemical exports - have been taken out of use and are not functioning"

https://x.com/ILRedAlert/status/2041115866901717235

https://xcancel.com/bonzerbarry/status/2040140960009429416

The IRGC has downed an A-10 in addition to the downing of the F-15E and the hit on the Black Hawk today.

I forgot about the F-16 that squawked 7700 out of Iraq while this was all happening too. Possibly 4 manned aerial assets struck/targeted by Iranian air defenses all within a matter of hours.

Nukes don't really make sense in a war like this; a single nuke won't degrade Iran's mosaic defense, as people have said before it's a big country, a single city or bunker lost won't break Iran

Then we get into the problem of ground detonations; IF we assume the nukes are used as bunker busters, which frankly doesn't seem likely to destroy anything buried at an appropriate depth (so many would be needed), but the radioactive fallout would spread throughout the region: Russia, Pakistan, Turkey, the Gulf, either an actual nuclear power is irradiated (which triggers MAD) or a US ally dies

So for nukes to work, they have to be used on cities, leading to the greatest genocide in human history or they would be deployed as bunker blusters on dozens of targets, irradiating half of Asia

Yeah, I don't think so, nuke talk is a psyop

The US has taken hostages.

US agents arrest niece of Iran's Qassem Soleimani after Rubio revoked green card - Reuters

U.S. federal agents have ​arrested the niece ‌and grand-niece of late Iranian ​military commander Qassem ​Soleimani after Secretary of State Marco ​Rubio revoked their ​lawful permanent resident status, the State Department ​said on ​Saturday. "Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her ‌daughter are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration ​and ​Customs Enforcement," the State Department ​said in ​a statement after Rubio revoked their green cards.

That's full text.

https://xcancel.com/IRMilitaryMedia/status/2039789264397873618#m

This morning’s U.S.-Israeli attack on the Pasteur Institute of Iran, a research institute with over 100 years of history. The institute was a major vaccine producer and a global pioneer in infectious disease research.

Are they hitting these sites in an attempt to commit biological warfare?

Iranian missile launches sure seem to be reducing in numbers... https://xcancel.com/ripplebrain/status/2039366109753663528

According to the Times of Israel:

• Iran launches 10-15 missiles a day at Israel on average
• There have been six waves of launches today alone
• The largest of these waves was 10 missiles

And this is just Israel. It doesn't include launches towards Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar, KSA, or Jordan.

https://archive.ph/f05Pv

Iran fires largest missile barrage in weeks as Israelis set to sit down for Passover Seder

According to initial IDF assessments, some 10 ballistic missiles were fired at central Israel, in the largest Iranian salvo on Israel since the early days of the war. Minutes later, sirens again sounded in central and northern Israel, as the IDF detected another Iranian ballistic missile launch, the sixth such salvo of the day. Around the same time, sirens sounded in the Golan Heights and Galilee due to rocket fire by Hezbollah from Lebanon.

According to the military, most of the incoming missiles were intercepted. Some missiles were allowed to hit open areas, “according to protocol.”

we intercepted everything, but anything that we didn't intercept? well it wouldn't have hit anything important anyway

Trump says US sent ‘a lot’ of guns to arm Iranian protesters but believes ‘the Kurds took’ them: report

But in an interview over the phone with Fox’s Trey Yingst on Sunday morning, the president made another piece of news: The U.S. was directly involved in efforts to destabilize and overthrow the Iranian government weeks before strikes were launched across Iran, and as U.S. negotiators were engaging with senior Iranian governmental officials in Europe. Those protests began shortly before the new year and lasted for weeks, ending in the violent subjugation of protesters by the Iranian government.

“We sent them a lot of guns. We sent them through the Kurds, and the president says he thinks the Kurds kept them,” Yingst said on Fox News, paraphrasing the president.

The tankies were right?!?!

Trump: "We sent a lot of guns to the Iranian protesters, we sent guns through the Kurds, I think the Kurds kept them."

Source: Fox News

[edit] Like ~2 hours after his unhinged rant on Truth Social, Trump said this on Fox News: "There's a good chance' for agreement with Iran on Monday"

https://xcancel.com/BlackwoodBrief/status/2039704655262093755

Sergey Lavrov announced that Bashar al-Assad and his family have been officially granted Russian citizenship, noting that this step comes as Assad transitions to the business sector in Russia. Lavrov explained that Assad has established several companies and projects, most notably a comprehensive eye surgery hospital, adding that he is now considered a prominent businessman in the country after his official retirement from political life. He added that this move falls within the established legal framework, which allows for granting citizenship to investors and businesspeople who contribute to the Russian economy through their projects and investments.

I wonder if Trump starts doing major war crimes on Friday because it's Good Friday so the American stock markets will be closed.

https://xcancel.com/itsalireza_akb/status/2040118064143061032

CNN journalist: Iranians will be happy he’s (American pilot) there

Meanwhile, Bakhtiari tribes in Khuzestan take up rifles, heading into the mountains to find the American pilot. These nomads will show the American pilot "happiness" with their rifles. Habibi RUN

https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2040117866557841408/vid/avc1/848x480/QNGZ1lwqPPDFH1Eo.mp4

It looks like the attacks on Iran's power infrastructure have started;

U.S./ISRAEL STRIKE ON POWER PLANT IN MASHHAD IN IRAN

Iran scored a bunch of good hits on the Saudi industrial complex.

DC reporters are saying that tomorrow's Pentagon press briefing at 8 am has been cancelled.

7 hours ago from the IRGC spokesperson: "The decision has been made, and implementation awaits a signal from the hand of history.". 1 hour ago from the IRGC spokesperson: "We have begun...."

NYT: A second Air Force combat plane crashed in the Persian Gulf region on Friday, and the lone pilot was safely rescued, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. The A-10 Warthog attack plane went down near the Strait of Hormuz about the same time that an Air Force F-15E was shot down over Iran, the officials said. In that incident, one crew member was rescued and search-and-rescue operators are looking for the second airman. Officials provided scant details about the A-10 crash, including how and where it happened.

According to Israeli channel 14: "Hezbollah fired an anti ship missile today and hit a British warship in front of Lebanese shores. The Israeli assessment is that Hezbollah thought it was Israeli. The British warship was hit and damaged."

Hezbollah did announce they fired an anti-ship missile this morning. A great hit, the ship was without a doubt helping shoot down Iranian/Hezbollah drones and missiles.

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷/🇴🇲 BREAKING: Iran and Oman will charge tolls from all ships passing the Strait of Hormuz during the 2-week ceasefire – AP

This cements Iran’s de-facto control over the Strait, and enshrines a new legal framework for passage.

@Middle_East_Spectator

https://xcancel.com/ripplebrain/status/2041559665884987472

UK warship HMS Dragon has been forced to withdraw in order to be repaired at port after experiencing issues with its fresh water supplies

This is the same ship they denied was hit by an ASM by Hezbollah, despite Israeli media reports that it was. Unfortunately the state of the Royal Navy is so poor that either option is equally plausible

https://xcancel.com/AJENews/status/2039785263061139553

IRGC claims attack on Oracle data center in Dubai

Trita Parsi is generally well regarded, right? I don't want to feed in the nuke anxiety but the option is clearly being evaluated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87wwERml5bI

Q: Finally, are you concerned the US or Israel would use a nuclear bomb against Iran?

A: "So, I've had conversations here in Washington and I have been quite taken aback by seeing that a lot of former officials are umm...very candid that this is an option on the table. It comes out of the fact that Trump appears to be increasingly desperate. He could end up going on bombing Iran for another two weeks trying to achieve some major spectacle and then just walk away, knowing that he doesn't have the ability or the patience for the real diplomacy that is needed. Doesn't have the willingness to give compromises.

So he may just escalate it in a spectacular way and then walk away, leaving the straits in the control of the Iranians. And that could potentially include the use of a nuclear weapon. The fact that that actually is being discussed or is being contemplated and discussed by former officials as an option that Trump is looking at or the Israelis are looking at is telling us about how badly this war is going, how desperate the situation is becoming and how tremendously dangerous this would be for the entire world. As one former official told me, this would make the United States the absolutely most hated country in the world if it uses a nuclear weapon as a way of just demonstrating its military superiority."

In one framing, the question is pretty simple: is the United States government and military willing to carry out the most evil and violent act in human history? It's not exactly against the system's nature.

BREAKING: Politico reports that Trump will use his primetime speech to say that the war is 'winding down' and US objectives have been met, while saying that allies are responsible for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

🛢 Dated Brent, the physical North Sea crude benchmark, rose above $140 per barrel today, the highest since 2008.

It tracks real cargoes loading 10 to 30 days ahead and is set daily from actual buyer and seller deals by S&P Global Platts.

Brent futures on ICE are paper contracts for delivery months later. They are driven more by speculation and storage costs.

The gap is large. Physical oil is around $141 per barrel while futures are near $109.

This shows tight immediate supply and war risk pricing in the real barrel market while financial pricing lags behind.