—❗️🇺🇸/🇵🇰/🇮🇷 NEW: An Iranian journalist reports, that despite the U.S. reassuring Iran yesterday, it has still failed to comply with implementing a ceasefire in Lebanon and unlocking frozen funds

If these preconditions aren’t met before the end of the day, the Iranian delegation may decide not to meet with the Americans at all.

@Middle_East_Spectator

🇺🇸 🇵🇰 🇮🇷 Footage of high-level US delegation arriving in Pakistan for Iran peace talks

- JD Vance
- Steve Witkoff
- Jared Kushner

📎 Insider Paper

🛢 🇺🇸 🚢 Trump:

Massive numbers of completely empty oil tankers, some of the largest anywhere in the World, are heading, right now, to the United States to load up with the best and “sweetest” oil (and gas!) anywhere in the World.

We have more oil than the next two largest oil economies combined - and higher quality. We are waiting for you. Quick turnaround!

📎 Clash Report

✈️ 🇺🇸 🇮🇷 As the dust settles following more than five weeks of sustained U.S. combat operations against Iran, we now have the clearest picture yet of the toll taken on American aircraft during Epic Fury. After flying more than 13,000 sorties, the U.S. lost at least 39 aircraft throughout the 39-day operation, with another 10 damaged to various degrees.

America’s drone fleet absorbed the heaviest losses, accounting for more than 60% of total combat attrition. Up to 24 USAF MQ-9A Reaper drones were destroyed, according to the latest reporting from Jim LaPorta and CBS. Five fighters were downed while in the air, four F-15E Strike Eagles and one A-10 Warthog. An F-35A was hit over Iranian airspace, marking the first known combat damage to a 5th-generation fighter, but the pilot made an emergency landing safely. 20% of attrition was due to friendly fire, including three F-15Es shot down over Kuwait, or the deliberate destruction of assets to prevent capture during a combat search and rescue mission in Iranian territory. Some losses, however, will be felt more than others, such as the prized E-3G Sentry that was totally destroyed.

https://www.twz.com/air/operation-epic-fury-u-s-aircraft-losses-visualized

📎 Ian Ellis

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 BREAKING: Several U.S. Navy ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday without prior coordination with Iran, a U.S. official says. The ships departed from the UAE, and left the Persian Gulf - Axios

@Middle_East_Spectator

🚛 🇮🇪 ⛽️ Ireland is currently experiencing massive protests over the price of fuel jumping over 20% in the last few weeks and the shortages starting to occur.

500 out of around 1200 fuel stations in the Republic of Ireland are set to run dry by the end of the day as protests continue to grow.

There are also rumours that hauliers are planning the same in the UK starting Tuesday 14th April.

📎 Carolina Lion

📝 🇮🇪 ⛽️Keith Woods on X - Some thoughts on the fuel protests in Ireland:

* Protests led by transport operators and farmers are causing major road disruptions across Ireland, in protest of sustained increases in fuel costs which they say is making their businesses unviable.

* It is led mostly by small business owners, hauliers, farmers, contractors etc., it's a demographic that is otherwise one of the most supportive of govt. parties. Most of these people will ultimately support one of the government parties at the next election.

* Carbon taxes should be scrapped, but they are a relatively small share of the total fuel cost. About half the cost of fuel in Ireland goes to tax which is high but not remarkably so by EU standards, where 8 countries tax it more heavily. There is a legitimate grievance that fuel taxes are "regressive" and hit small businesses and households disproportionately, but:

* The government already responded to this price shock with a relief package and lowered excise duty, which itself is an exceptional measure to do outside an annual budget. What changed since then is the global price of oil continuing to rise, not anything the Irish state did. There should be more relief for businesses but this was already being negotiated with their representatives.

* The price shock is entirely because of Israel and America's war on Iran, so it's especially contemptible seeing slopulists who cheered that on now trying to capitalise on this sentiment.

* I don't like leftist groups like Just Stop Oil shutting down roads and inconveniencing ordinary people to impose their politics and I don't like other groups doing it.

* This isn't some nationwide populist revolt and it won't become one, it's certainly not "civil war" as some slop accounts on here are trying to present it. This is a group with a very specific economic grievance against the government which isn't really ideological and isn't going to lead to any larger movement of anti-regime sentiment.

* Sinn Féin and other leftist parties are already behind demands to lower fuel prices further, they will all adopt anger about the "cost of living crisis" into their policies and rhetoric.

I understand the impulse to get behind anything disruptive and anti-establishment like this, but I consider the demands confused and the response of shutting down the country's supply chains over a specific tax grievance to be vastly disproportionate.

I would be very happy if this led to a larger, more coherent anti-establishment movement, but my belief is these swells of reactionary sentiment rarely translate into anything meaningful without a firm ideological grounding.

📎 Keith Woods

📢 🇺🇸 🇮🇷 Trump says "we're now starting the process of clearing out the strait of hormuz".

This comes after Axios reported that US warships have crossed the strait.

📎 Faytuks News