Free Republic

Vice President JD Vance said on Saturday evening that the U.S. delegation has decided to leave peace talks with Iran in Pakistan after the Islamist regime refused to agree to America’s terms.Speaking alongside White House Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, Vice President Vance said that after 21 hours of talks, it became clear that no agreement with Iran could be reached and that U.S. negotiators have therefore decided to walk away from the table.“We have had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians, that’s the good news. The bad news...

Iran has likely earned $139 million per day by selling its flagship Iran Light crude so far in March, according to Bloomberg calculations based on export estimates by Tankertrackers.com and prices for Iranian Light. The estimated daily revenues were nearly $25 million higher compared to the average of $115 million daily proceeds from Iranian Light in February, according to Bloomberg's calculations. Iran is benefiting in several ways from the Hormuz crisis. First, its tankers are transiting the Strait of Hormuz while most other Gulf oil supply is still trapped. Then, the massive supply shock from the Middle East has hiked...

Judging by Donald Trump’s outbursts of late, he can’t seem to decide whether reopening the Strait of Hormuz is easy or hard. He also can’t seem to decide whether he needs international allies to help with this urgent task or not. Iran’s blockade on oil shipments exiting the strait—done in response to Trump’s attack—is causing worsening global consequences daily. So it would be useful for Trump to settle these arguments in his own mind already. But Trump’s incoherence on the Strait of Hormuz actually reveals something else, as well: a massive political weakness. .....

Iran launched a fresh wave of missiles at Israel Tuesday – only a day after President Trump said Washington and Tehran were having “constructive conversations” to end the conflict. Six people were injured following a strike in Tel Aviv and one munition, which damaged buildings and cars in the Israel city, contained 100 kilograms of explosives, the Times of Israel reported. Three buildings were significantly damaged by the Iranian warhead, according to Home Front Command official Col. Miki David. David said the projectile appeared smaller than conventional warheads fired by Iran. Iran also fired missiles on northern and southern Israel...

Three weeks after the joint US-Israeli war against Iran began, the conflict has reached a fuzzy state of mixed messages and uncertainty, with Donald Trump's public comments often seemingly contradicted by realities on the ground. The war is "very complete, pretty much", Trump has said, but new American ground forces – including a Marine expeditionary unit - are moving into the region. It is "winding down", but US and Israeli bombing and missile strikes on Iranian targets continue unabated.Opening the Strait of Hormuz, the geographic choke point through which 20% of the world's oil export travels, is a "simple military...