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Europe could have used the "Lion's Roar" campaign to reset its domestic policy regarding radicalization; instead, they chose to prioritize internal "harmony" with an increasingly hostile demographic. President Donald Trump, in his characteristically blunt fashion, offered European leaders a strategic out: a chance to align with a hardline U.S.-Israeli axis to secure Middle Eastern hegemony and, crucially, to use that external momentum to address the rapid Islamization occurring within their own borders. But Europe didn’t just miss the boat, they actively pushed it away. Faced with a choice between long-term civilizational security and short-term domestic quiet, the leadership of France...

Donald Trump threatened to stop supplying weapons for Ukraine in order to pressure European allies to join a “coalition of the willing” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to people briefed on the discussions. The strait has been in effect closed by Iran after the US and Israel attacked the Islamic republic in late February, choking a route through which a fifth of the world’s oil typically passes.

If the United States is the world’s largest oil producer—in fact, if we are energy independent—then why are we still at the mercy of global events? And how can prices spike instantly when the gasoline in the tank was made from cheaper oil weeks ago? People like easy answers, such as “corporate greed.” That is emotionally satisfying, but it doesn’t tell the full story. What’s happening is a function of global markets, supply chain realities, and predictable patterns in consumer behavior. In fact, much of what we’re seeing is exactly how the system is designed to work. The U.S. leads...

An Iranian tanker from the country's shadow fleet caught fire after being struck by its own naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz. Omani authorities reported that 20 crew members, including 15 Indians, were rescued as the vessel continued to sink. The tanker, part of a network used to bypass international sanctions, was reportedly targeted for "illegally passing" through the strategic waterway. After being hit, fires erupted on board, forcing a rapid evacuation by nearby rescue teams. Shadow fleet strike sparks chaos The vessel, managed by Red Sea Ship Management LLC, had been sanctioned by the US Treasury in December...

WASHINGTON — President Trump said Wednesday that Iran has begged the US for a cease-fire — but he won’t agree to stop bombing the theocratic regime “back to the Stone Ages” until it opens the Strait of Hormuz. “Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” he threatened. This is...

The American relationship with NATO has never been more strained. Despite decades upon decades of propping up Europe's defense while its leaders spend all their money on welfare programs and mass migration, the United States is now having to fight over something as mundane as transiting the airspace of its alleged "allies."According to President Donald Trump, France denied the use of its airspace to American cargo planes transporting munitions to Israel as part of Operation Epic Fury. 🚨Trump: “The Country of France wouldn’t let planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory. France has been...

Whether you like it or hate it, the war in Iran has definitely had the effect of exposing some of the ridiculous fantasies in the world to a serious dose of reality. Consider the UK. After implementing an expansive welfare state in the latter 20th century (e.g., free health care for all!), the UK since 2000 has gone all-in on the idea of an energy system free of hydrocarbon fuels. The 2008 Climate Change Act — passed with an overwhelming majority including support from all major political parties — committed the UK to 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050....

Shipping and military expert John Konrad spent all day in D.C. on Tuesday talking to his military sources and concluded that "the Navy appears to be in no rush to reopen the strait," even while Iran dictates whose oil tankers are allowed to pass. "What is this administration trying to leverage?" Konrad wondered, and that nobody he talked to was willing to discuss the fate of Hormuz "until European politicians and media stop calling Americans war criminals and monsters." While Konrad admitted he has "no idea" when Hormuz will reopen, "but if the price is a modicum of cooperation and...

US President Donald Trump has asked European allies for a lot lately – the use of military bases, the potential relocation of missile defense systems and generally stronger support for US military action against Iran. Many responses have been lukewarm, with allies offering limited defensive support but also repeatedly calling for de-escalation. But increasingly, White House requests have been met with a firm “no.” Or nie, non, rifiuto. This week, Italy denied a US request for aircraft to land at a military base in Sicily, according to state broadcaster RAI on Tuesday. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has perhaps been...

US President Donald Trump says countries "like the United Kingdom" who can't get jet fuel because of the restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz should “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT". In a post on Truth Social, he writes countries will “have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us," addressing countries "which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran". "Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done," the post adds, ending with:...

When Air Force Times reporter Michael Scanlon wrote that the A-10 Warthog had been pulled into maritime interdiction missions in the Strait of Hormuz, it landed like a jolt. This was not the airplane most people expected to hear about in a sea fight. But according to Scanlon, that is exactly what happened. During a Pentagon briefing, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said the A-10 was now operating along the southern flank of Operation Epic Fury, targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fast-attack watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz. That detail matters because it confirms something the host of the...

US President Donald Trump has claimed that the US is in "serious discussions" with a new regime in Tehran to end the war in Iran. "The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran," he announced on Truth Social. "Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately 'Open for Business,' we will conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all...

The global energy shock triggered by the ongoing Iran war is rippling through the United States farm sector, where soaring input costs are placing US farmers under severe financial strain and raising concerns about future food prices... The closure and instability around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil and fertilizer shipments, have pushed fuel prices sharply higher and tightened supplies of key agricultural inputs. The result is a double blow for US farmers already dealing with tight margins. Higher input costs reduce profitability, while uncertainty about supply availability complicates planting decisions. In some cases, farmers are...

Bellingcat's analysis of the strike in Minab on Feb 28th doesn't make sense. At https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/08/video-shows-us-tomahawk-missile-strike-next-to-girls-school-in-iran/ they show a video of a Tomahawk hitting an IRGC facility. Aerial photos show the blast field for that hit and bellingcat draw a red frame around that blast field. That shows the school outside the blast zone and they also say that the Tomahawk only hit a "clinic" and an earth-covered "magazine or bunker". The first paragraph says the video shows a Tomahawk hitting an IRGC facility. People on Bluesky used this to claim that the Tomahawk hit the school, but this shows the...

#A10Warthog #MilitaryAnalysis #MilitaryTechnology The geopolitical tension in the Middle East has just reached a boiling point as Iran's asymmetric strategy to blockade the Strait of Hormuz spectacularly backfires. Attempting to trigger a global energy crisis, the IRGC deployed Maham-class sea mines, kamikaze drones, and fast-attack boat swarms to choke the world’s most vital oil transit route. But the United States and its allies were ready. In a devastating two-phased military campaign dubbed "Operation Epic Fury," the U.S. Navy and Air Force completely dismantled the Iranian blockade. The response was brutal: GBU-72 bunker-buster bombs obliterated underground missile silos, while legendary A-10...

The gathering storm over the Strait of Hormuz carries with it unmistakable historical resonance. When the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) begins to threaten tariffs, or more bluntly, coercive tolls, on oil tankers navigating one of the world’s most vital maritime arteries, it evokes troubling parallels with the 1956 Suez Crisis. Then, as now, a strategic chokepoint became the focal point of geopolitical brinkmanship, miscalculation, and the dangerous illusion of control. Yet history rarely repeats itself neatly. Today’s Iran is not Nasser’s Egypt. It is a regime battered from within and without, its leadership decapitated, its command structures degraded, and...

There is a particular species of institutional error that only becomes visible in hindsight, and only then at considerable cost. It is not the error of building the wrong weapon. It is the error of discarding the right one because it does not fit the threat you expect to fight. The US Air Force spent the better part of a decade trying to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II, requesting $57M in its fiscal year 2026 budget submission to decommission the remaining 162 aircraft, two years ahead of its own previously stated schedule. Congress blocked the effort, mandating a minimum fleet...

President Donald Trump said on March 26 that Iran had given the United States a “present” in the form of several boats carrying oil. To show they were serious and reliable, Iran had planned to send over eight large vessels of oil, Trump said. He initially thought nothing of it, but then he saw a news report stating that eight ships were moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump, speaking during a Cabinet meeting, reiterated that his administration is having “very substantial talks” with Tehran to resolve the conflict. Iranian officials gifted the United States 10 boats of crude oil...

Oil prices could surge to as high as $200 a barrel if the Iran conflict extends into June and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, Bloomberg reported, citing an analysis from Macquarie Group. A war lasting through the second quarter could drive historically high real prices, analysts including Vikas Dwivedi said in a note, assigning a 40% probability to that scenario. A separate outlook, with a 60% probability, sees the conflict ending by the end of this month. Brent crude (CO1:COM) is on track for a record monthly gain in March as the war involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran...

Throughout four weeks of war, Iran has continued to make the United States’ Gulf partners pay a price for Operation Epic Fury and Israel’s Operation Roaring Lion. The Iranians have fired thousands of missiles and dronesat their neighbors, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) bearing the brunt of the assault. There is also significant damage to energy infrastructure in Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. From the first days of the conflict, part of the Islamic Republic’s strategy was immediately clear: inflict significant pain on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia so that they would in turn pressure the United States...