🇺🇸🏦 While it is true that the U.S. is the largest oil exporter and “only” imports ~3% of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the same can’t be said about its allies.

- Europe: Highly dependent on oil/gas imports
- Asia: Highly dependent on oil/gas/food imports

These regions also hold the vast majority of US assets owned and account for most of the buying.

The highly financialized and indebted US economy only functions when:

1) Allies buy US Treasuries to keep rates low
2) Allies buy US equities to keep markets and tax receipts up
3) Send cheap goods to the U.S.

The current spike in energy and food prices is threatening the very foundation of the empire.

As these highly import-dependent countries and regions face mounting costs and strain, they need to make a decision:

1) Print currency to buy energy and food
2) Sell US assets to buy energy and food

Printing currency would ignite inflation, and in an already inflationary shock, selling US assets at near all-time highs would buy these countries time for things to normalize.

The longer the Strait remains closed, the higher the incentive to sell US assets to relieve inflationary pressures.

🔗 Lukas Ekwueme

🇮🇷⚔️🇺🇸 The Iranian Army released a video showing an American F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet being engaged by Iranian AA somewhere over the Iranian littoral.

The jet was narrowly missed by an Iranian missile and it doesn't appear it was targeted after.

@CIG_telegram

🇮🇷🛢 Iran's oil production just hit a 46 year high and it is selling oil at the highest prices in history

@CIG_telegram

🌾🚜 Fertilizer prices have moved up to their highest levels since September 2022, rising 44% YoY.

About a third of global fertilizer supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

This will drive food price inflation higher in the coming weeks/months.

🔗 Charlie Bilello

🇶🇦🇪🇺 QatarEnergy LNG CEO says 'We incurred a $20 billion loss at the facility we built for $26 billion two years ago.' — AnewZ

📝Adam Collingwood: Important: a big chunk of Qatari gas output and LNG train expansion was designed to feed European demand.

There was a big investment programme to increase LNG supply by more than 50% by 2027. Not coincidentally, this was the date that Europe was going to ban completely the purchase of Russian gas. In other words, the Iranians are smashing Europe's entire energy plan, such as it was.

The big question now is will Putin stick to form and provide Europe with the energy it needs to stave off economic disaster, or will he finally twist the knife by banning sales to Europe in anticipation of the EU ban in 2027? This is the gamble European leaders are now making. Relying on the Russians to play nice after everything. Breathtaking incompetence.

🔗 https://anewz.tv/region/middle-east/18819/iran-attacks-erased-17-of-qatars-lng-capacity/news

🇪🇺🇺🇸📝: The EU is the biggest loser of the 3rd Gulf War all thanks to the U.S.

Trump will reinstate in the future America's old energy export restrictions. The real reason will be to cocoon America from the global fallout from massively high energy costs before the midterms.

The excuse will be that "our allies didn't help us, so why should we help them?" Then, Europe would be royally screwed. They would have to go on bended knee to Vladimir Putin. Total strategic disaster.

This is NOT something we should look forward to. Nobody will enjoy the schadenfreude as they scrape together what pennies they have for food that now costs 40 or 50% of average wages.

🔗 Adam Collingwood

🇯🇴🤝🇸🇦🇧🇭 The Kingdom of Jordan has sent 5.000 riot policemen to Bahrain at the request of Saudi Arabia fearing an overthrow of the Al Khalifa family which rules the country.

Bahrain is a Shia majority country led by a Saudi-backed Sunni royal dynasty. The dynasty survived two nation wide protests in 2011 and 2013, both being quashed by Saudi and Emirati riot police and soldiers.

Due to the ongoing war, seems like Jordan now has to take over from the UAE and the Saudis into maintaining the Al Khalifa family in power in Bahrain.

A successful overthrow of the Al Khalifa family in would see the establishment of an new regime that will be aligned with Tehran and allow it to build military bases and more easily spy on the other Gulf countries.

🔗 Bin Saeed

🇺🇸⛽️ Crazy high jumps in average diesel prices from some U.S. cities- 7 have surged over $2/gal in 30 days:

Tucson +$2.21/gal
Phoenix +$2.10
Orange County, CA +$2.06
McAllen, TX +$2.01
Madera, CA +$2.00
Napa, CA +$2.00
The Villages, FL +$2.00
Prescott, AZ +$1.99
Sarasota, FL +$1.98

🔗 Patrick de Haan

🇺🇸⛽️ Just 0.7% of stations offering gasoline today below $3/gal, according to GasBuddy data, down from 78.0% of stations three weeks ago.

National average at $3.94/gal- likely to go above $4 in less than ~48 hours.

🔗 Patrick de Haan

🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 'Do Not Want To Die For Israel': Doubts About Trump’s Iran Strategy Spread Among Troops

The possibility of an American ground operation in Iran is growing, but one service member familiar with troops in the region told HuffPost the prospect would be "an absolute disaster."

As the U.S.-Israel war on Iran enters its fourth week and President Donald Trump orders the deployment of thousands of additional sailors and Marines to the Middle East, the troops he is counting on appear increasingly wary of the conflict.

Interviews with active duty soldiers, reservists, and advocacy groups focused on service members found some U.S. troops who are caught up in the war are reporting vulnerability, overwhelming stress, frustration and disillusionment to the degree they may leave the military. The reservists and active duty soldiers spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation or because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

A military official who is treating service members evacuated from the Middle East to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany amid Iran’s retaliation said troops are suffering from “inadequate force protection and planning” and already reporting a severe, destabilizing toll from Iranian ballistic missiles and drones that have been repeatedly striking American military facilities

A ground operation would be “an absolute disaster… we don’t have a plan for that,” the official said earlier this week. “We can’t even fully defend a single land base in the theater.”

A veteran and reservist who mentors younger officers told HuffPost her contacts are expressing a loss of faith to a new degree.

“I’m hearing out of service members’ mouths the words, ’We do not want to die for Israel — we don’t want to be political pawns,” she said. Another reservist in touch with current troops separately reported hearing similar comments.

“I’ve shared conscientious objector information six times in the past two weeks and I’ve been in the military almost 20 years — I’ve never had people reach out this way,” the first reservist continued.

There is no indication of a mass exodus from the United States’ 1.3 million-person military over Trump’s campaign. Sources described anger, but also a sense of resignation among many troops.

Many service members have long anticipated and prepared for a U.S. war against Iran, with some more senior personnel seeing that as justified given the country’s role in deadly attacks on American troops, particularly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But dissatisfaction and morale problems could make Trump’s campaign less likely to succeed — and hint at a lasting shift among troops that could have implications for America’s national security establishment.

The lack of a clear, consistent narrative justifying the Iran war is a key source of discontent among troops, the reservists said, demoralizing those who believe a poorly planned conflict is placing them in unnecessary danger for no identifiable strategic benefit.

🔗 https://archive.ph/G2pon

🇨🇺🇺🇸⚡️ — Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío says the country’s military is preparing for the “possibility of military aggression.”

Our military is always prepared, and in fact, it is preparing these days for the possibility of military aggression.

We would be naive if, looking at what's happening around the world, we did not do that.

We truly hope that it doesn't occur. We don't see why it would have to occur, and we find no justification whatsoever.

🇺🇸♨️ California is not just experiencing a heatwave on land.

A Category 3 to locally Category 4 marine heatwave has developed off the Southern California coast.

La Jolla in San Diego recorded a water temperature of 71°F (21.7°C) yesterday on the last day of winter. That's warmer than the average water temperature in August.

🔗 Colin McCarthy

🇮🇷❌🇺🇸 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi:

​"There is no longer any room for talk with the Americans. They deceived us with promises of no attack, and even after significant progress in negotiations, they decided to attack us regardless. The experience is very bitter, and trust is completely non-existent. Regional war is closing the doors of diplomacy for good!"

🔗 𝐓𝐌𝐓 (@TMT_arabic)

🛢 Oil prices to rise further on Monday as Mideast war escalates

Oil prices look set to rise further on Monday, having closed before the ‌weekend at their highest in nearly four years, after U.S. and Iranian threats to target energy facilities, analysts said on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to "obliterate" Iran's power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz ​within 48 hours, a significant escalation barely a day after he talked about "winding down" the ​war, now in its fourth week.

Iran warned on Sunday it would attack U.S.-linked infrastructure, ⁠including energy and desalination facilities in the Gulf, if Trump carried out his threat.

On Friday, Brent ​futures for May settled up 3.26% at $112.19 a barrel, the highest since July 2022.

"President Trump's threat has now ​placed a 48-hour ticking time bomb of elevated uncertainty over markets," said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore. If the ultimatum is not walked back, oil prices will spike on Monday, he said.

"It clearly means more escalation which means higher ​oil prices. Some are incorrectly thinking, however, that Iran may cave," said Amrita Sen, founder of Energy ​Aspects. "Trump is trying to show he can out-escalate and that way ends in scorched earth for Gulf infrastructure."

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-rise-further-monday-mideast-war-escalates-2026-03-22/

🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷🇾🇪 American officials tell allies that the US will probably be forced to launch a ground operation to capture Iran's Kharg Island, according to two sources familiar with the matter - I24 News

*The same i24 News broke the story that the Kurds launched an invasion of Iran back on March 5th which was later proven to be false.

📝: RUMINT says that the deployment of American troops to Djibouti might have to do with a campaign focused on the Houthis not Iran itself.

@CIG_telegram

🇮🇱⚔️🇮🇷 IDF Spokesperson Effi Dapiran: "We expect more weeks of fighting against Iran and Hezbollah" — Channel 12

@CIG_telegram