New York Post: The Pentagon is deploying the USS Tripoli and thousands of military service members to the Middle East after President Trump vowed Friday to unleash “unparalleled firepower” on the “deranged scumbags” leading Iran.
The deployment of the amphibious assault ship comes as the American military admits it’s currently unable to break Iranian influence over the vital Strait of Hormuz as global oil prices spike…
Wall Street Journal: Before the U.S. went to war, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told President Trump that an American attack could prompt Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz.
Caine said in several briefings that U.S. officials had long believed Iran would deploy mines, drones and missiles to close the world’s most vital shipping lane, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.
Trump acknowledged the risk, these people said, but moved forward with the most consequential foreign-policy decision of his two presidencies. He told his team that Tehran would likely capitulate before closing the strait—and even if Iran tried, the U.S. military could handle it…
CNN: Critical island hit: President Donald Trump said Friday night the US “totally obliterated every military target” on Kharg Island, which handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude exports. He threatened to attack the oil infrastructure if Tehran continues blocking ships from traversing the Strait of Hormuz. In response to the strike, Iran warned that it would attack oil facilities in the region...
Financial Times: Wall Street has warned oil prices will rise sharply higher as the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz chokes off exports from the Middle East and the US strikes Kharg Island, Iran’s crucial oil supply hub.
Politico: Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Friday took action to hit back at two of the Trump administration’s top antagonists: Oil supply disruptions brought on by the war in Iran and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Wright issued an order paving the way for a company operating off the California coast to restart an oil pipeline that state officials have kept offline since 2015. The Energy Department framed it as a way to ease reliance on oil imports through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for oil tanker traffic that the war has choked off…
Traders and analysts on Friday said there was little sign of a speedy resolution to the conflict, which has roiled markets and sent the price of Brent crude above $100 a barrel. The supply crunch would soon leave the market short of transport fuels and other products, they added, as the crisis spreads into the wider economy…
Financial Times: One of Donald Trump’s close White House advisers has called for the US to “find the off-ramp” in its conflict with Iran, the first public signal of discontent over the war from a senior figure in his administration. “This is a good time to declare victory and get out,” David Sacks, Trump’s AI and crypto tsar, said on the All-In podcast he co-hosts. Such a move “is clearly what the markets would like to see”, he added…
Bloomberg: Iranian-American scholar Vali Nasr says Tehran believes time is on its side, and that a prolonged conflict can alter Washington’s calculus and strengthen nationalism at home…
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