The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint for global fertilizer supplies, not just oil.

Disruptions to shipping through the strait are already pushing fertilizer prices higher and threatening global food production.

The strait carries ~1/3 of global seaborne fertilizer trade.

Gulf producers account for ~43–49% of global urea exports and ~30% of ammonia exports.

The region also ships ~44% of seaborne sulfur, a key fertilizer input.

Nitrogen fertilizers (urea and ammonia) are essential for crop yields and rely on cheap Gulf natural gas. Nearly all exports from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Iran must pass through Hormuz.

Fertilizer prices up ~30% since late February. Ships carrying fertilizer stuck in Gulf ports. Spring planting disrupted in multiple regions.

Countries most affected:
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh: rising prices, gas shortages hitting fertilizer plants.
Brazil: higher fertilizer costs threaten soybean production.
China & SE Asia: fertilizer prices rising sharply.
Parts of Africa: shortages risk food insecurity.

Netanyahu remains alive.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent:

Everywhere that there is chaos and terrorist mayhem, it is Iran.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Iran:

They are in Hitler’s bunker, but Hitler is dead.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Iran:

The previous Ayatollah did not want his son to become the Ayatollah. He left written instructions and they overrode him.

We believe that the current Ayatollah is injured and may be incapacitated.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Iran:

The Iranian ships have been getting out already, and we’ve let that happen to supply the rest of the world.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent:

Which is more? If oil spiked to $150 but Putin was getting 70% of that, or oil stays at $95 to $100? Where is he getting more money? If it spikes to $150.

So roughly his coffers are unchanged.

AP Investigation Ties Mystery Flights From Gaza to Israeli Group

The Israeli group Ad Kan, known to advocate for Palestinian emigration & tied to far right groups, organized mysterious flights since May transporting Palestinians from Gaza enclave to Indonesia & South Africa.

READ MORE

Germany Says Iran War “Not NATO’s Fight”

Germany said the conflict triggered by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran is not a NATO war, pushing back against pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

READ MORE

CLAIM: Kuwaiti outlet Al-Jarida reports that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was secretly taken to Moscow for surgery after being seriously injured.

According to an Iranian source, he was transferred on a Russian military aircraft on March 12 after Putin proposed treatment.

The surgery was reportedly successful, and he is now recovering at a hospital inside the presidential compound in Moscow.

Iranian intelligence allegedly chose Russia because hospitals in Iran could become targets amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes.

WATCH: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius:

We did not start this war.

What does the world expect, what does Donald Trump expect from a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to achieve there in the Strait of Hormuz, which the powerful American Navy cannot manage alone?

It is not our war; we did not start it.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain will not be drawn into a wider war in the Middle East, while announcing financial support for households struggling with rising heating oil costs amid the Iran conflict.

READ MORE

Professor John Mearsheimer:

Israel has become an albatross around America’s neck.

A great power should not allow a minor power to shape its grand strategy.

It just goes to show you how enormously powerful the lobby is.

When you look at this conflict, it is seriously eroding our capability to contain China in East Asia. We’re pulling THAADs and Patriots out of South Korea and Japan. This is truly remarkable.

We have been shortchanging East Asia.

We have been shortchanging our containment policy in East Asia for quite a while now because of Israel, and the situation is now only getting worse.

NEW: Trump says he'll hold a news conference today.

German AfD Leader Alice Weidel:

Germany is facing an economic disaster. The numbers are getting worse and worse.

We cannot see any course correction. Things are simply continuing as they did under the Merkel era and under the traffic-light government.

The same policies are just being pushed forward, and the dramatic collapse in approval ratings for the black-red coalition shows that this government—Klingbeil and Merz—no longer has any real support.

It can be expected that it will come to an end even faster than the previous traffic-light coalition.

Trump to PBS:

I left a lot of infrastructure in Tehran because if you did it, it's years of building...

I could knock out the electric plants in one hour... but if I do that, that's years of rebuilding and it's trauma. So I'm trying to hold off on that kind of thing.

Trump to PBS:

The oil prices will drop like a rock as soon as it's over.

Israel has planned at least three more weeks of airstrikes on Iran, targeting missile sites, nuclear facilities, and security infrastructure.

READ MORE

Republican donors are quietly discussing a potential “Draft Rubio” movement for the 2028 presidential election as Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s influence rises in Trump’s second administration.

His high profile—especially during the Iran conflict—has boosted his standing with some GOP allies and even with Trump, who has praised Rubio publicly and privately.

The likely frontrunner for 2028 remains Vice President JD Vance, but some Republicans are beginning to question whether his nomination is inevitable.

Source: ABC News

U.S. oil executives warned the Trump administration that the energy crisis caused by the Iran conflict could worsen, mainly because disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz threaten global oil supply.

Prices have already risen to about $99 per barrel and could climb higher if markets tighten.

Executives fear prolonged high prices could damage the global economy, even if oil companies benefit in the short term.

Source: WSJ

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spox. Esmaeil Baghaei:

Claims that Iranian drones might be able to reach the West Coast of the United States could be a prelude to false flag operations.