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This Week In Politics: Renewed Conflict With Iran
Following a month-long pause in conflict, American and Iranian forces resumed hostilities this week when U.S. strikes hit Iranian territory on Sunday, Aug. 30. The U.S. struck Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, a critical strategic island along the Strait of Hormuz, and the attack is reported to have killed two people and wounded others....
Trump admin reimposes oil sanctions after Iran strikes ships near Strait of Hormuz
The Trump administration is reimposing sanctions on Iranian oil sales in retaliation for a series of attacks on commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil rises as uncertainty continues over reopening of Strait
Oil prices rose on Monday as uncertainty continued over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as Iran said a deal with Oman defining new shipping lanes was in its final stages, but the U.S. must still meet other conditions.
How Trump Failed to Secure the Strait of Hormuz in His Iran Deal
President Trump signed an agreement that Iran said gave it control of the waterway — and global energy supplies. Now, Iran’s military is violently asserting authority.
Iran meeting with Gulf countries to discuss Strait of Hormuz deal without the US
Gulf diplomats and Iranian officials will meet without US involvement to discuss an Omani plan for re-opening the Strait of Hormuz to regular tanker traffic.
US strikes Iranian island where forces were preparing to launch mines, official says
The US military on Sunday struck Iran’s Larak Island, where forces were observed preparing to launch mines into the Strait of Hormuz, according to a US official, marking the first strikes in the war in over a month.
Trump says deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come as early as Wednesday
Iran and Oman inched toward an agreement on the critical waterway
What Does the Memorandum of Understanding Signed Between the US and Iran Mean?
Iran maintains that transit through the Strait of Hormuz should be under the control of both Oman and Iran with no international intervention.
U.S. and Iran assert control over Strait of Hormuz after latest attacks
President Donald Trump told Fox News Monday: "We're taking over the strait"
Israel rejects Trump's Gaza plan, more details emerge on the Strait of Hormuz
Tehran suggests that vessels linked to “hostile countries” will be barred from the waterway.
Strait of Hormuz remains 'de facto closed', no matter what the US says: Expert
Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, says the economics and legalities of President Trump's proposed toll on the Strait of Hormuz made his U-turn on this inevitable. He also explains why he believes the Strait remains de fact closed despite U.S. assertions on the contrary, noting that freight rates and insurance premiums have surged on Trump's latest comments.
Biological 'superspreader' event could be imminent as more than 1,000 ships idle in the Strait of Hormuz, scientists warn
The prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz may pose significant biosecurity hazards as well as economic impacts, with potentially devastating consequences for global ecosystems and human health.
U.S. and Iran assert control over Strait of Hormuz after latest attacks
President Donald Trump told Fox News Monday: "We're taking over the strait"
Iran has suggested a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in 7 days
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi detailed the proposal in a private gathering on Thursday
Iran Won’t Back Off from Conditions for Reopening Hormuz: FM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran has clearly presented its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and advancing negotiations, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, stressing that Tehran will not back down from those conditions.
Ice Island Survives Run-In With Joe Island
In summer 2026, a substantial iceberg calved from Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland and swiftly drifted into Nares Strait, colliding with an island along the way.
Few signs of talks between US and Iran as Trump hears from different corners on path forward
Despite President Donald Trump’s claims Iran is “begging” for a deal, some US officials fear regime figures appear more committed than ever to wielding leverage over the Strait of Hormuz and firing missiles toward American troops.
Hormuz disruptions hitting small businesses hardest, UN trade agency warns
GENEVA, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could push small and medium-sized businesses out of global supply chains, increasing economic concentration and weakening the resilience
Trump calls Iranian plan to reopen Strait of Hormuz not 'acceptable'
President Trump said he was rejecting an Iranian plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian proposal is similar to a memorandum of understanding agreed upon by the U.S. and Iran back in June.
Trump says Iran ceasefire is ‘over,’ so what now?
President Donald Trump said the Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran is “over” after a fresh escalation that included attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and US retaliatory strikes. CNN’s Kevin Liptak reports on what could happen now.
Oil rises on concerns over Strait of Hormuz reopening plans
Oil continued its rise on Friday amid further concerns around the opening of the Strait of Hormuz as Iran, working with Oman, suggested banning vessels deemed hostile from the strait and heavily fining those who violated the proposed rules.
Trump says Iran probably responsible for attack on Saudi pipeline
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Iran was probably responsible for an aerial attack on Saudi Arabia that shut down its East-West pipeline, one of the kingdom's main routes for exporting crude while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Somalis rethink trade routes as Houthis disrupt established shipping channels
Somali businesses are seeking alternative shipping routes due to disruptions and security concerns around the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Strait of Hormuz after Iran-backed Houthis captured a key port city and an island, sending thousands of Yemenis fleeing to...
Is the Iran war back on for real?
After days of newly intense fighting, Trump asserted he’ll take control of the Hormuz Strait — and charge for access.
Iran says it's in final stages of draft agreement with Oman on Strait of Hormuz
The agreement is likely to be contingent on the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports
Trump in address to world leaders at UN defends his decision to start Iran war
Trump accused Iran of stalling to make a deal to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate an endgame to the war until after the midterms
U.S. War Against Iran Enters a New Phase
As President Trump resumes his war, the focus is now on the Strait of Hormuz. But it remains unclear how far the U.S. military will go to exert control.
Major takeaways from SEC football in Week 4
Florida is formidable, while Texas A&M and Oklahoma are in dire straits
Trump's 60-day Iran deal reaches halfway mark as ceasefire collapses into escalating war
Halfway through the 60-day negotiating window, the U.S. has struck over 300 Iranian targets while Tehran attacks commercial vessels in the strait.
Trump calls Iranian plan to reopen Strait of Hormuz not 'acceptable'
President Trump said he was rejecting an Iranian plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian proposal is similar to a memorandum of understanding agreed upon by the U.S. and Iran back in June.
Miliband says reopening Strait of Hormuz 'essential' as he meets Rubio
The move is required "to ease cost-of-living pressures", Miliband says, as he meets his US counterpart in Washington.
Oil treads water as US-Iran peace talks stall, Hormuz shipping slows
Oil prices barely moved in early trade on Monday as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed over the weekend with no peace deal in sight between the United States and Iran to end the conflict in the Middle East.
Girls organise science research programme to grow interest in STEM among S’pore female students
SINGAPORE – From finding out about the effects of food-waste antioxidants on repeatedly heated hawker-centre cooking oil, to observing the routine of otters in Singapore, 66 girls put their research s...
Former entertainment lawyer and Beam Artistes founder Samuel Seow dies at 53
Former entertainment lawyer Samuel Seow died on July 25 at the age of 53, according to a statement from a family friend seen by The Straits Times.
We’re running out of ways to get oil out of the Middle East
Saudi Arabia had found a workaround for the Strait of Hormuz. Then the Houthis showed up.
Trust in science falls as Covid-era confidence fades, global survey finds
Global trust in science falls after Covid, with the steepest drop among people facing financial hardship, a Wellcome survey finds. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Iran is 'punishing' US allies, hurting the global economy: Political analyst
An ‘All-Star’ panel joins ‘Special Report’ to discuss the U.S.-Iran conflict, threats to the Strait of Hormuz and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's plan to revive a war powers vote.
Iran Ready to Resist Any Aggression, Even ‘Apocalyptic War’: Araghchi
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran is fully prepared to confront any aggression and stands firm even if the confrontation escalates into an “apocalyptic war”, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, stressing that Tehran keeps the door open to diplomacy and a proposed seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil Rises After Weekend of Back-and-Forth Strikes by U.S. and Iran
The renewed hostilities posed fresh risks to ships seeking to navigate the Strait of Hormuz.
US targets multiple Iranian tankers near Kharg Island
The US targeted multiple Iranian tankers near Kharg Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, according to two US officials.
Former Pentagon official analyzes Strait of Hormuz oil threats
Former Pentagon official Brent Sadler discusses rising geopolitical risks including Iran's threats in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. envoys pushing for Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations and the new Russia-North Korea road bridge.
Millions of barrels of Iranian oil sit beyond Trump blockade as he vows ‘zero leakage’
Nearly 40 million barrels of Iranian crude sit on tankers near Malaysia, posing a test for Trump's "zero-leakage" sanctions campaign against Tehran.
PGSA Warns against Serving Violating Vessels
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Affairs Authority (PGSA) warned insurers, protection and indemnity insurance clubs, and classification societies against providing services to vessels listed as violating its regulations governing maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. strikes Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz
Iran swiftly vowed to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack
Trump rejects Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump spoke to reporters Saturday outside the White House before leaving for a college football game. His
Tour industry protests over Taiwan’s new mainland China travel registration rules
KMT politicians accuse ruling DPP of turning cross-strait exchanges into an election issue ahead of year-end local polls.
US Reimposes Blockade on Iranian Ports, Launches New Strikes
Gharibabadi said Tehran no longer considers itself bound by the memorandum of understanding, including on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran weaponized the Strait of Hormuz. Now its neighbors are building around it
For the first time in decades, the Middle East is investing seriously in a future in which the Strait of Hormuz may no longer be indispensable.
An Uncommon Drifter in the Denmark Strait
In summer 2026, a large iceberg drifted more than 1,000 kilometers south from the northeastern Greenland bay where it likely originated.
Britain’s Burnham is set to meet Trump for the first time at the UN in New York
Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Burnham plans to discuss ways to bolster Ukraine's defenses and ease fuel prices that have soared since the US-Israeli war with Iran blocked ships from moving freely through the Strait of Hormuz. Burnham, once critical of Trump, now says he wants to seek common ground. Trump has called Burnham “a nice guy,” but has also concerned U.K. officials by expressing support for Irish unification and musing about the future of the Falkland Islands.
Oil edges up on uncertainty over exports through Hormuz
Oil prices ticked higher in early trade on Wednesday, climbing for a fourth straight day on supply uncertainty as investors weighed conflicting messages from Tehran and Washington on whether the Strait of Hormuz is open to ships.
US military fended off Iranian drones as it escorted a record amount of oil through Strait of Hormuz, sources say
The US military escorted 40 commercial vessels carrying 18 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, marking a wartime high as Iran and the US exchanged a new round strikes on Tuesday, two US officials familiar with the operations told CNN.
Iran War costs Arkansas farmers at least $343 million
The war with Iran continues to rage and it continues to plunge profit margins for farmers in Arkansas. About one-fifth of the world’s oil supply is moved through the Strait...
Add a month at sea and $2.5 million - what it costs oil tankers to flee Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb
With two of its key oil export routes - the Hormuz and Bab el- Mandeb straits - disrupted by Iran and Iran-allied Houthi militants, Saudi Arabia has to resort to exporting oil via Egypt's Suez Canal.
The Latest: Trump demands 20% toll for passage through strait
President Donald Trump said Iranian ships will no longer be able to travel through the Strait of Hormuz and America would charge a 20% toll on other countries’ eligible cargo, escalating tensions after weekend of attacks by both nations to assert control of the critical waterway
Why One Global Shipping Choke Point Isn’t a Blueprint for Another
The Strait of Malacca may be a model for how Oman and Iran could collect fees in the Strait of Hormuz, but the differences between the waterways are vast.
Iran needs to see that we mean business: GOP lawmaker
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., discusses concerns over a clause regarding the Strait of Hormuz in the MoU, reports of Iran-made drones in Cuba and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani meeting a Cuban delegation.
Iran is losing control of the Strait of Hormuz
The battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz has become the focal point of the Iran war. Over the past several months, both Iran and the United States have claimed the upper hand – and the competing rhetoric has caused considerable confusion and doubt.
Oil prices steady as investors assess US-Iran war outlook
Oil prices steadied in early trade on Thursday as investors assessed the outlook for the U.S.-Iran war and the security of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iran MOU is a mess. It still might work
The 14-point “Memorandum of Understanding” is among the oddest international agreements in recent memory. Short on detail, its two pages purport to grant significant up-front American concessions to Iran in exchange for opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was already open before the war President Donald Trump started in February and now hopes to end.
Brazil: Lessons from a Disaster
By Antonio Martins (Outras Palavras) Defeats become deeper and more prolonged when we misunderstand what caused them, avoid correcting course, and embrace “solutions” that only compound our mistakes. Lula’s government and the Brazilian left suffered a disaster in Sunday’s election. Contrary to every poll, the president finished the first round 2.2 million votes behind Flávio Bolsonaro—and, more significantly, 3.4 million votes below his total four years ago, when the machinery of the state was working against him and in favor of his opponent. His vote share declined in 98 percent of Brazil’s municipalities. The PL, the main party of the far right, elected 121 deputies and 28 senators, becoming the largest caucus in both houses of Congress. The parties aligned with the Centrão—Brazil’s bloc of transactional center-right parties—were somewhat diminished, but will still hold roughly 250 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 35 in the Senate. That will make it easier to assemble the majorities needed to amend the Constitution or impeach Supreme Federal Court justices. If elected, Flávio Bolsonaro could appoint four members of the Court, substantially altering its internal balance of power. What produced these results? How can the far right be prevented from consolidating them into a prolonged political hegemony? And what is the essential change of direction the left now needs? Explaining the Disaster Across the commercial media and the exuberant chaos of digital platforms, interpretations are multiplying. Some focus on specific episodes: Lula’s absence from the Globo debate, his very close relationship with Alexandre de Moraes, or his emphasis on issues supposedly remote from most people’s everyday concerns, such as rare earth minerals. Among the more systemic interpretations, three seem especially questionable. One argues that the principal defeat was not the left’s, since its congressional representation declined only slightly. The decisive movement captured at the ballot box, according to this view, was a shift within the right itself—from the more moderate and transactional forces of the Centrão toward the more ideological and radicalized forces of the PL and Novo. A second interpretation holds that the nature of electoral and political processes has changed. The material interests and aspirations of society, it argues, no longer play the central role they once did; they have given way to forms of subjective self-identification that the left has yet to understand. And a third concludes that, because of these two developments, we should expect a political winter: a prolonged period in which the far right and the broader right dominate Brazilian political life. There are important elements in all three interpretations. The problem lies in what they deny or leave out: Lula’s third government was a small-bore government. It offered the majorities that elected it neither a clearly better life nor reasons to believe again in politics and its power to transform society. These failures flowed from two fatal accommodations, which I will examine below. As a result, the government suffered a slow but steady erosion of support. And, as has happened in so many Western countries, it gave the far right the opportunity to present itself as anti-system and to benefit from popular frustration and distress. The interpretation that emphasizes the migration of votes from the center-right and traditional right toward the far right has been advanced, among others, by the courageous journalist Leonardo Sakamoto. In his UOL column on Monday, October 5, he highlights the miserable behavior of the traditional conservative parties. Over the past four years, they repeatedly joined forces with the “neo”-fascists, helping to “normalize” them—a criticism that could equally be directed at almost the entire corporate media. Believing they could use the far right as a stepping stone, they instead ended up partly devoured by it. This was especially true in the Senate, where the PL’s gain of 13 senators and Novo’s gain of two came at the expense of the PSD, which lost nine; the MDB, which lost two; the PSDB, which lost two; and the PP, which lost one. Sakamoto’s observation is accurate and necessary, but it leaves uncomfortable questions unanswered. Why did the erosion of the Centrão benefit the far right rather than, for example, producing growth for the left—as has happened so many times before, both in Brazil and elsewhere? The answer is not difficult. Throughout its four years in office, Lula’s third government was almost invariably associated with the Centrão. Here lies its first accommodation: accepting the limits imposed by conservative institutions; avoiding, as much as possible, any attempt to strain those limits through popular pressure; and believing only in the modest changes that could be squeezed through openings in Congress. The failure of the campaign to end the six-day workweek is emblematic. Lula could have electrified the presidential race by pairing it with a popular campaign for passage of the measure. Instead, he chose to place his hopes in the hands of Senate president Rodrigo Alcolumbre. He generated no mass mobilization, did not force his opponents onto an uncomfortable defensive, and won no victory. In September 2025, the government squandered the greatest of its many opportunities to shake up conservative power in Congress. Popular opposition to the so-called Shielding Amendment—which, if approved, would have restricted criminal proceedings against members of Congress—brought crowds into the streets, mobilized primarily by artists and social movements. This opened the possibility for a broader political education: a campaign that could begin exposing the limits and dysfunctions of Brazil’s political system while putting Bolsonaro’s movement on the defensive for its predictable support of political privilege. The amendment was defeated. But the executive branch then backed away from the fight. It remained associated with an institutional world widely seen as corrupt, elitist, and indifferent to ordinary people’s struggles. In doing so, it forfeited its credibility as a vehicle for the protest vote. On Sunday, it reaped the bitter fruits. Are We Doomed? Taking a different approach from Sakamoto, the philosopher Moysés Pinto Neto and other writers have drawn attention, in their first analyses of October 4, to the fragmentation of the public sphere produced by Big Tech platforms. Through their algorithms, these platforms present each person with a different view of social reality. As a consequence, it becomes much harder to identify common material problems and demands—for example, the fight for labor rights or for a properly funded public health system. Voters no longer embrace such demands, these authors argue, because they no longer see themselves as part of a collective. Instead, they tend to value the identities assigned to them by neoliberal subjectivity—the role of the entrepreneur, for example. On this interpretation, the left’s possible error lies in clinging to outdated illusions. Moysés’s warning is highly relevant and resonates with arguments such as Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor’s “Apocalyptic Fascism and the Billionaires’ Bet.” Unlike a century ago, the far right no longer promises a radiant future. It concentrates instead on resentment—especially that of young men. “They belong to a generation that fears it may never own a home, but compensates with the pleasure it gets from constantly provoking progressives online. Convinced their future has been stolen, they share memes romanticizing historical authoritarian regimes,” the authors write. But Moysés seems to confuse this danger with inevitability. He fails to see that the left’s answer cannot be adaptation. On the contrary, it must strengthen the possibility of politics as collective action. Nor does he recognize that precisely such a reversal is already becoming possible in some of the most promising mobilizations of the twenty-first century: the election, at the end of 2025, of the young Muslim Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York, on a platform centered on the intensely material fight for an affordable city; the Left Party’s victory in Berlin two weeks ago, built around the demand to expropriate private real-estate corporations; and the very recent wave of demonstrations in Spain—including an occupation of Madrid’s Puerta del Sol—in which tens of thousands of young people mobilized by the Tenants’ Union have demanded limits on rents. By putting itself in the straitjacket of the “fiscal framework” in the first months of 2022, Lula’s third government adopted the second fatal accommodation of its term. Faced with conservative institutions and a country devastated by four years of Bolsonaro, increased public investment was the government’s remaining weapon for offering a more dignified life to the majority and forging an anti-conservative pact with them. The same state that disburses 1 trillion reais a year to enrich a small class of rentiers could instead spend money to extend the Family Health Strategy to every Brazilian, at a cost of 30 billion reais; provide full-day public schooling and childcare to all adolescents and children—and, especially, relief to their mothers; achieve universal sanitation while cleaning up polluted urban rivers; multiply metro systems; begin transforming the urban peripheries; and undertake many other urgently needed projects. In April 2023, an article in Outras Palavras warned that the fiscal framework could “shrink the Lula government and preserve the forces that condemn the country to inequality and regression.” A year later, another article showed that restraints on public spending were strangling policies vital to ordinary people and undermining the president’s popularity. In November 2024 came a reality check, in the form of the government’s humiliating defeat in the municipal elections. Even then, the fiscal lock was neither removed nor loosened. On the contrary: throughout the government’s four years, fiscal restraint remained central to its political narrative. The administration proudly proclaimed that it had “put the state’s accounts in order,” without grasping either how misleading that phrase was—given the payment of 1 trillion reais in interest—or how badly the message was hurting it politically. Lula finally woke up in September 2026. The increase in Bolsa Família benefits, after four years of being frozen; the announcement that anti-obesity drugs would be offered through Brazil’s public health system; and the ban on online betting showed that the state has the power to act decisively on behalf of the majority when those in government are willing to confront obstacles. The huge marches that closed the campaign in Fortaleza, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo on the eve of October 4 showed how such initiatives can mobilize activists and the broader public. But it was too late—and too little to change the outcome of the first round. History has not ended The possibility of a turnaround in the three weeks leading up to November 25 cannot be ruled out. It will not be simple or easy. Lula must not only make up a deficit of 2.2 million votes; he must also offset the movement of voters who backed other right-wing candidates in the first round, most of whom are likely to move toward Flávio Bolsonaro. Pulling that off will require a broad, grassroots effort to win over voters, potentially reinforced by new initiatives from Lula. The coming hours and days will be decisive. If Bolsonaro’s movement also wins the presidency, the result will create a high-risk situation for Brazilian sovereignty and democracy. The enormous challenges posed by such an outcome would require the left to reexamine, in depth and with a genuine willingness to engage in self-criticism, its political projects—or its lack of them—and its practices. But would that mean we are condemned to the long winter of far-right hegemony that some analyses are beginning to forecast? It is far too early to say, suggests a recent text by Álvaro García Linera, the thinker who served as vice president of Bolivia under Evo Morales. His central hypothesis is that this political current will prove short-lived. At a moment when the entire world is once again talking about sovereignty and protecting national economies, the far right offers a stale, recolonizing neoliberalism. Its submission to the United States is as blatant and pathetic as Flávio and Eduardo Bolsonaro’s overtures to Donald Trump. Its project amounts to something like every man for himself: greater inequality, capitalism without limits, devastation, and supremacism. Will it work? In the United States, just two years into his second term, Trump himself is reaching record levels of unpopularity and may be on the verge of losing Republican control of both the House and Senate in November. Every new beginning is difficult. Whatever the outcome of the second round, the defeats of October 4 show how profoundly the Brazilian left will have to rethink and rebuild. But just as it would be foolish to underestimate the seriousness of its mistakes, it would be equally foolish to conclude that rebuilding a political project is no longer possible. History has not ended. The times are moving faster than ever. Originally published in Portuguese by Outras Palavras. English translation by Eric Blanc; I’ve added the subtitles. More We can’t stop the far right at home or abroad without a revitalized labor movement, which is yet another reason why you should become a sustaining supporter of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) — one of US labor’s pivotal bright spots. Relatedly, Jacobin published a short piece of mine reflecting on a decade of Bernie Sanders inspiring a whole new generation of young worker organizers.
Trump administration lowers fuel economy standards, critics say at a significant environmental cost
The new rules were released shortly after President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices soaring.
Trump’s “Highly Productive” Talks About the Strait of Hormuz Probably Involved Middle Eastern Leaders Telling Him to Shove It
And another TACO Tuesday passes us by.
Iran claims it struck an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, and other Mideast developments
Iran says it struck an oil tanker trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz, while hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Tehran in the largest show of support for the government since the United States and Israel launched attacks in February. Meanwhile, South Korea says it is considering expanding a naval operation in the […]
No One Wants to Talk About the Debt | WSJ Politics Newsletter for Aug. 13
Plus, Iran has an ability to make the Strait of Hormuz too risky to cross with limited firepower, and progressives have a reckoning in the Midwest.
UK economy faces recession if strait of Hormuz remains closed, EY warns
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
The Beclowning of Scott Bessent
One iron law of current politics is that nobody who associates themselves with Donald Trump emerges with a shred of credibility. For some, that’s not a big loss — it’s not as if anyone respected Pete Hegseth even before he decided that the key to military success in an age of drones and AI was more testosterone. For others, however, the costs are real. I’m old enough to remember when Marco Rubio was widely considered a reasonable, thoughtful politician. Right now, however, my candidate for the biggest loser is Scott Bessent, the Secretary of the Treasury. Bessent started out with significant reputation to lose: When Trump selected him, this was the headline in the Financial Times: Jason Furman, Barack Obama’s chief economist, described him as a “credible Treasury secretary who has a real understanding of the global economy”. But Bessent has now transformed himself into the Baghdad Bob of bonds. Three weeks ago, after intervening (for reasons that remain somewhat unclear) to support the Japanese yen, Bessent boasted about his ability to move markets and dared investors to bet against his, declaring “I am the house now.” He then tried to push long-term interest rates down, buying 30-year U.S. Treasuries in a move some have compared to paying down part of your mortgage by running up your credit card balance. Here’s how that’s going so far: To get some perspective on how high interest rates have gone, here’s a longer-term perspective: We haven’t seen interest rates this high since the fading days of the dotcom bubble. Why are interest rates hitting new records? The backdrop, as I argued in last Sunday’s primer, is the huge AI-driven investment boom; more on that next week. But the immediate cause of the latest interest rate spike was Trump’s rejection of an Iranian proposal to end the war. This rejection sent crude oil prices, which for a while had fallen considerably, shooting back up: It’s notable, by the way, that oil prices remain high even though a significant amount of oil is now being shuttled through the Strait of Hormuz by night, on smaller vessels. That’s an interesting story, which has a lot to do with the fact that oil from the Hormuz shuttle runs must be transferred to larger vessels before being shipped to markets in Europe and Asia; around 15 percent of the world’s large crude carriers are now parked off the coast of Oman, waiting to be tanked up. This is creating a shipping crunch: But that’s a topic for another day. For now, the point is that with oil still high and refined products, especially diesel, still close to record levels, inflation will remain elevated. And this in turn means that the Federal Reserve will keep short-term interest rates high, an expectation that is feeding into longer-term rates. Hence Bessent’s bond-market humiliation. The truth is that Bessent might not have been able to get interest rates down even in the best of circumstances. But he certainly won’t get anywhere as long as Trump keeps believing that he can somehow convert his Iran debacle into a triumphant victory. And Trump will keep believing that as long as he is surrounded by sycophants who tell him what he wants to hear. Sycophants like, for example, Scott Bessent, who is predicting the imminent collapse of the Iranian economy, possibly within two weeks. Bessent is right to say that the embargo on Iranian oil exports is placing the country under great economic strain. But his implicit prediction that this will quickly produce a deal that Trump can call victory looks no more plausible than his boasts about the bond market. The big question now is, why would anyone with a reputation to lose work for Donald Trump? As the beclowning of Bessent shows, joining the Trump team won’t just damage your reputation; it will utterly destroy it.
Oil extends gains after US and Iran strike ships
Oil prices extended gains on Monday as tit-for-tat strikes between the U.S. and Iran on vessels sailing in the Strait of Hormuz and other areas heightened concerns of a prolonged supply disruption from the Middle East.
IRGC Downs Another MQ-1 Drone over Strait of Hormuz
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced the interception and destruction of another advanced MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
Wanted: Oil tankers at any cost as tensions in the Gulf trigger a global scramble
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and soaring freight rates have intensified competition among countries and shipowners to secure their own tanker fleets. A second-hand vessel can now cost up to 40% more than a newly built one
Hormuz Strait Remains Under Iran’s Control: Military Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The initiative in the Strait of Hormuz remains in the hands of Iran's powerful Armed Forces, a senior spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces said.
IRGC Navy Seizes Second US Military Underwater Drone
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy said on Sunday that it has seized a second underwater remotely operated vehicle (UROV) belonging to the US military in the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices jump amid record tanker attacks in Hormuz
Oil prices climbed Thursday on continued worries about global supply and as record tanker attacks in the Middle East sent crossings through the Strait of Hormuz to a two-month low.
How The Global Business Community Is Responding To Tariffs & The Strait Of Hormuz Impasse: Expert
When the Supreme Court blocked a large swath of his tariffs, Trump said his administration had "very powerful alternatives." Now we know what those alternatives are.
Intelligence from Chinese groups aiding in Iran’s increasingly effective targeting of US sites, sources say
Satellite imagery and intelligence support provided by Chinese groups has helped Iran threaten ships in the Strait of Hormuz and launch precision strikes on US military bases in the Middle East, part of a dramatic improvement in Iranian targeting capabilities over the past several months, according to a series of recent American intelligence assessments described to CNN by four sources.
A deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz may require a compromise from Trump
Any concession would be tough for the Republican president
Hormuz as a Multiplayer Game: From Chokepoint Control to the Politics of Access
Transit fees, Hormuz Safe insurance, and a new strait authority: how the Iran war turned Hormuz from a chokepoint into a contest over access.
Iran’s leverage over Strait of Hormuz snarls Trump’s push for a deal
Washington and Tehran are back at the negotiating table after a fragile ceasefire. But experts remain skeptical the two sides are close to a nuclear deal, even as calm oil markets reduce pressure to reach one.
A deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz may require a compromise from Trump
Any concession would be tough for the Republican president
U.S. demands Iran publicly state Strait of Hormuz is open
U.S. officials said Friday that internal Tehran power struggles have made it difficult to reach and keep a deal
Oil price ‘may fall to $60 a barrel’ as voyages through the strait of Hormuz jump
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
US military carries out new strikes on Iranian targets
The US military conducted additional strikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran on Tuesday, in response to recent attempted attacks against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and American troops deployed to the region, according to US Central Command.
Trump Rejects Iran’s Cease-Fire Proposal to Reopen Strait of Hormuz
The president said the deal was not “acceptable” and demurred on whether he would restart military strikes after the midterm elections.
The US was overconfident before the war. Iran may be overconfident now.
Iran may have bitten off more than it can chew in the Strait of Hormuz.
For Whom the Strait Tolls | WSJ Politics Newsletter for July 14
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Iran fires on its Gulf neighbors, retaliating for U.S. military strikes
Fighting between the U.S. and Iran has increased since the weekend after the American military hit Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz
Iran has suggested a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in 7 days
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi detailed the proposal in a private gathering on Thursday
Oil rises as Middle East supply concerns persist amid shipping attacks
Oil prices rose on Thursday on persistent worries about supply from the key Middle East producing region amid an increase in attacks on shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Hormuz disruptions hitting small businesses hardest, UN trade agency warns
GENEVA, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could push small and medium-sized businesses out of global supply chains, increasing economic concentration and weakening the resilience
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Plus: The Strait of Hormuz isn’t going back to normal, and the Chinese EV wave threatens Volkswagen’s vast, well-paid workforce
U.S. strikes Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz
Iran swiftly vowed to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack
Brent oil tops $90 as US, Iran intensify attacks in Middle East
Oil prices jumped 3% on Monday, with Brent surpassing $90 a barrel, as the United States and Iran expanded attacks in the Middle East that have curbed energy shipments in the Strait of Hormuz.
Sen. McConnell breaks weeks of silence about health, US and Iran vie for Strait of Hormuz control
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Iran says it ‘has no plans to negotiate with US’ despite Trump claims
Trump had told Axios he expected talks to resume a day after he rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the strait of Hormuz
Final show of the season for Modesto’s Fruit Yard Amphitheater set. Who, when
The singer has toured with musicians George Strait, Miranda Lambert and others.
Top Iranian official admits dire state of the economy: Report
A top Iranian official reportedly admitted that Iran’s economy is in dire straits due to the war and the U.S. blockade of the country. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and former commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made the admission Saturday at a high-level government meeting focused on […]
Scientists warn of potential global marine invasive species event linked to idle ships in the Strait of Hormuz
New research from an international team of 24 marine scientists, led by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) and including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), ...
Yemen’s Gate of Tears: How another critical waterway became Iran’s wild card
The Bab al-Mandeb Strait is a narrow passage of water separating the Arabian Peninsula from Africa. From the north, it connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. From the south, it provides access through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean.
Oil slips after OPEC+ agrees to raise output targets
Oil prices inched lower on Monday after OPEC+ agreed to further increase its output targets from August while exports from key producers via the Strait of Hormuz are recovering, potentially adding to global supplies.