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Strategic patience for the win? Iran's regime leaders thought they could force the US to buckle by strangling the global economy at the Strait of Hormuz. The US, however, has an actual blue-water navy, and that tends to matter in blockades involving a country entirely reliant on sea trade for its only valuable export economy. As the Wall Street Journal concedes, Donald Trump's Hormuz blockade is a lot less "leaky" than the IRGC's. And as Trump himself pointed out yesterday, the Strait may not matter for very much longer anyway:By squeezing the Strait of Hormuz, both the U.S. and Iran...

Iran is facing a potential economic disaster as the besieged Islamic Republic’s fuel reserves have dwindled to a paltry two-month supply, following months of punishing US bombing campaigns and a fresh wave of crippling economic sanctions. The US unleashed a barrage of secondary sanctions in recent weeks to choke off Iran’s supply of cash, restricting the rogue nation’s access to international financing networks and even blockading its oil exports. This is preventing Iran from doing everything from buying goods to securing foreign currency, and even forcing it to import gasoline because its refinery infrastructure has been decimated and there’s no...

If you've looked at gas prices lately you already know the conflict with Iran is still having a big impact on prices at the pump. However, there's a genuine disagreement over how much oil is currently making it through the Strait of Hormuz. This week the Trump administration has claimed that the total amount of oil passing through the strait is approaching pre-war levels. Here's a CNN report from yesterday.The US military escorted 40 commercial vessels carrying 18 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, marking a wartime high as Iran and the US exchanged a new round...

Days after Donald Trump won the presidential election in November 2016, thousands flocked to the streets of New York City to demonstrate against the president elect in a protest organized by a Kremlin-connected Facebook page called BlackMattersUS, The Hill reports. Between 5,000 and 10,000 people attended the protest organized by the Facebook page, which, according to an archived screen grab, had more than 99,000 likes.“Join us in the streets! Stop Trump and his bigoted agenda!” the Facebook event page reads for the protest, which was called “Trump is NOT my President. March against Trump.” “Divided is the reason we just fell,” it reads. “We must...

The oil agreement is a foundation, not a finish line but it is a hopeful moment of progress

Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama was quick to blame the bankruptcy of Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers on Republicans’ “failed philosophy”. Obama’s September 15 comments were repeated throughout the media--yet reporters have not noted Obama’s glaring conflict of interest—the Lehman debt owed to a bank owned by the financier who loaned millions of dollars to Tony Rezko.

Chevron Corp. (CVX) and other U.S. energy companies are reportedly moving closer to deals that could bring billions of dollars of investment into Venezuela's oil fields. While Chevron is nearing an agreement to expand its operations in the country, Halliburton Co. (HAL) is reportedly in talks to provide equipment to Venezuelan oil producers, as the Trump administration pushes U.S. companies to help build the nation's oil industry. Chevron, Halliburton Eye Venezuela Opportunities Chevron could add two heavy-oil fields to its Venezuelan portfolio under the potential agreement, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The oil major...

President Donald Trump announced an historic energy deal with Venezuela in a Truth Social post Friday night. The president called the deal “THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY.” Trump wrote that the United States secured “majority U.S. control” of over 65 million barrels’ worth of Venezuelan oil reserves. Trump credited Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez and “a partnership with private business.” The president stated that the deal more than doubles American reserves and will “substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans.” He added that the deal would strengthen the...

I reported on Thursday that there was a massive deal in the offing to acquire an interest in Venezuela's oil fields that could help guarantee our energy security. Now, both President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have weighed in, saying they pulled it off and the deal is official. Trump said in a Truth Social post that they'd secured "majority control" over 65 billion barrels; it "more than doubles" our reserves and will "substantially lower gas prices." 🚨 BREAKING NEWS pic.twitter.com/vkRV9oOetV— Department of State (@StateDept) August 28, 2026BREAKING NEWS: The United States of America has just entered...

President Donald Trump on Friday said the U.S. has entered an agreement with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of the South American country’s oil reserves. Trump in a social media post announced the agreement he said was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez. “The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!” Trump wrote.

China warned that it would “take all necessary measures” and retaliate against the US if any of its companies are included in the Trump administration’s new secondary sanctions targeting Iran.Companies based in Hong Kong and mainland China were among the entities targeted by the US after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced “Operation Economic Outcast” on Monday to further isolate Iran. The US, however, stopped short of listing large Chinese financial institutions, with Beijing — Iran’s largest oil buyer — warning that it will do whatever it takes to protect its economic interests. *** “China has made clear on many occasions...

STAVANGER, Norway, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Norway will continue developing its oil and gas resources in the Barents Sea regardless of the European ​Union's support for a moratorium on Arctic hydrocarbon supplies, and no longer sees itself as Europe's "green battery", Energy Minister Terje Aasland told Reuters. Following Russia's 2022 invasion of ‌Ukraine, Norway has become Europe's largest supplier of natural gas, meeting around 30% of gas demand of both the European Union and Britain. Last year, the country's gas production was near record levels, while oil output reached its highest level since 2009. Official forecasts, however, show production falling...

The national average price of gasoline stood at $4.05 a gallon Monday, the highest ever recorded this late in the calendar year, as escalating geopolitical conflicts on two fronts threaten to push prices even higher heading into the Labor Day weekend. In Washington, drivers are paying more than $5 a gallon throughout much of the state, well above the national average tracked by fuel price service GasBuddy. The price surge comes as President Donald Trump announced plans to launch what he described as "the most crushing economic operation" against Iran, adding fresh uncertainty to global oil markets already strained by...

The U.S. Navy’s effort to establish a new route through the Strait of Hormuz and to shuttle tankers through it under cover of darkness appears to be a success so far. A lot of preparation went into this, involving both the destruction of Iranian surveillance and naval assets as well as clearing mines the Iranians had already emplaced in the straits. The U.S. naval presence likely prevented the Iranians from mass mine-laying using dedicated ships. Instead, they turned to small boats that could carry a single mine and would simply drop it at random. As a result, Iran has no...

As I wrote at the time, Pres. Trump made a good deal in June, got the oil flowing, and left the Iranians with no leverage and few benefits. So the IRGC reneged on it in a few weeks and started shooting. Now we learn the U.S. Navy has set up a stealth convoy system for Hormuz that is taking 9-15 million barrels a day out of the Gulf, according to Energy Sec. Chris Wright. When you combine that with the 7-8 million barrels from the Hormuz bypass pipes, we are getting back to the pre-war normal of 20 million barrels...

Venezuela's new petroleum minister sees her South American home not as a dilapidated former oil giant, but as an emerging energy economy ripe for U.S. and foreign investments in new oil and gas exploration, both onshore and offshore. Paula Henao, who took over as the hydrocarbons minister in March after the forced U.S. removal of former leader Nicolás Maduro, told an overflowing Houston energy audience on Wednesday that Venezuela is much more than just its famed heavy-grade crude oil. There are more than 916 exploration opportunities awaiting foreign investment, she said, including natural gas and other untapped oil basins. She...

It feels like it's not very often that the NY Times says something positive about an operation taking place under the direction of President Trump. But today they did just that with a story that notes an ongoing operation to help ships full of oil clear the Strait of Hormuz which is working, though obviously the total number of ships is still down compared to the situation prior to the war. Only a few oil tankers braved Iran’s attacks to go through the Strait of Hormuz for much of the war, leading to a drastic reduction in how much crude...

Iran’s oil exports have dropped to nearly zero under the renewed US naval blockade, according to analysis from a former senior US Treasury official — who predicts that the economic impacts could hit the elite and destabilize the regime within two to three months. Iran’s ability to ship oil out of the Strait of Hormuz to offset its current economic woes has hit a wall under the new blockade, with little to no activity seen at its Kharg Island hub, according to recent satellite images. As Iran and the US attempt to use economic pressures to see who will blink...

Key Points The rapid drawdown of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve could damage the caverns that store the oil, experts warn. The SPR has tumbled below 300 million barrels for the first time since it was filled in the early 1980s, according to federal data released this week. The SPR faces elevated risks to its operations and cavern integrity as inventories continue to drop. ===================================================================== The caverns that hold the U.S. strategic oil reserve could get damaged by the rapid release of stockpiles in response to the Iran war, experts warned this week as inventories hit a four-decade low. Damage...

America’s emergency oil stockpile has fallen below 300 million barrels for the first time since the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was filled in the early 1980s. Now, some energy experts are warning that the problem may go far beyond simply having less oil available during the next crisis. The rapid drawdown could threaten the underground salt caverns that hold the crude, potentially reducing how quickly the United States can respond to another major supply disruption. The warnings come as the U.S. releases 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, in response to supply disruptions caused by the Iran...