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Global oil prices jumped after Israel said it had struck Iran, in a dramatic escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Benchmark oil contracts, Brent Crude and Nymex light sweet, were up by more than 10% after the news emerged. Traders are concerned that a conflict between Iran and Israel could disrupt supplies coming from the energy-rich region. The cost of crude oil affects everything from the price of food at the supermarket to how much it costs to fill up your car.

Iran has launched at least 100 suicide drones against Israel. Iran's retaliation may be underway.

BRET BAIER: “I just spoke to President Trump. One thing the president was aware of Israel's action before it happened.” “He gave me a quote. He said: ‘Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb. We're hoping to get back to the negotiating table.’” “The President is looking to see if there is retaliation... the US will defend itself and Israel if Iran retaliates."

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: June 9, 2025 U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE STAFF JUNE 9, 2025 1:51 PM - UPDATED: JUNE 11, 2025 7:13 PM These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of June 9, 2025, based on Navy and public data. In cases in which a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong, either the world is using Socrates, or this is always one hell of a coincidence, which I do not believe. The defense stocks moved days before the Hamas attack. You projected that the war would start in Ukraine more than a year in advance. When are you going to come clean and explain how you do this? There was a daily panic cycle here, and this was the week with escalating volatility into the end of June, which you also forecast. HOW? FF ANSWER: Look, I have stated many times that when I created this model, it...

President Trump signaled on Thursday during a bill signing ceremony that the U.S. is close to a deal with Iran that would bring peace to the Middle East and eliminate its nuclear capabilities. As The Gateway Pundit reported, President Trump spoke to reporters Wednesday night on worsening conditions in the Middle East regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The U.S. authorized evacuations of dependents and non-essential personnel at several embassies and bases in the Middle East after Iran threatened attacks over the possible breakdown of negotiations with the U.S. over its nuclear program amid warnings by both Israel and the U.S. that...

Polish MEP Grzegorz Braun destroys LGBT-themed exhibition in ParliamentVideo footage shows Catholic politician Grzegorz Braun tearing down pro-LGBT materials in the Polish Parliament building, after which he was banned from the Sejm by the Speaker.Polish Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Grzegorz Braun has destroyed a pro-LGBT exhibition in the Polish Parliament.In a video that went viral online, Braun is seen removing pro-LGBT display boards from their stands and bending them in half by stepping on them.The exhibition was displayed on Wednesday in the Sejm, Poland’s lower House of Parliament.Szymon Holownia, the Speaker of the Sejm, announced on X that...

The United States on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza because it was not linked to the release of hostages. All 14 other members of the council voted in favor of the resolution, which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory. The resolution before the U.N.'s most powerful body also did not fulfill two other U.S. demands: It did not condemn Hamas’ deadly attack in Israel on Oct. 7,...

Republican senators came out firing during Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s hearing on Wednesday before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on armed forces. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) immediately pressed Hegseth over the Russia-Ukraine war, with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) driving home the point later in the hearing; Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the top Senate appropriator, scolded the Pentagon’s delays with budget information; and Sen. Lisa Murkowski closed out the hearing by questioning the administration’s focus on Greenland in its Arctic strategy. McConnell, one of three Republicans who opposed Hegseth’s confirmation, gaveled in the hearing by calling out the Trump administration for what...

In May, an American investor tried to sell top German economic officials on an audacious plan to buy a Russian undersea pipeline. Despite years of international friction over the pipeline, he proposed to eventually activate it and deliver natural gas to Germany. The investor, Stephen P. Lynch, had already made the pitch to the Trump administration, which he was betting would want U.S. control over a pivotal piece of energy infrastructure. Now the Germans wanted to hear for themselves about Mr. Lynch’s proposal to lead a takeover of the much-criticized pipeline on the floor of the Baltic Sea, called Nord...

The world's largest group of oil producers, OPEC+, stuck to its guns on Saturday with another big increase of 411,000 barrels per day for July as it looks to wrestle back market share and punish over-producers.Having spent years curbing production - more than 5 million barrels a day (bpd) or 5% of world demand - eight OPEC+ countries made a modest output increase in April before tripling it for May, June and now July.They are spurring production despite the extra supply weighing on crude prices as group leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia seek to win back market share as well...

[…]"It is vital that the response to this and other similar Russian attacks is not silence from the world, but concrete action," Zelenskyy said in his statement."Action from America, which has the power to force Russia into peace," he continued. "Action from Europe, which has no alternative but to be strong. Action from others around the world who called for diplomacy and an end to the war -- and whom Russia has ignored. There must be strong pressure for the sake of peace..."

What needs to happen is simple, but, at least for now, looks pretty suspect if you ask me. Russia would need to get so exhausted from the war that its lines collapse. After losing 1 million casualties, thousands of tanks and artillery pieces, and billions of dollars in bombers and drones, Moscow would one day see its war effort collapse in a mix of exhaustion, anger about the overall direction of the conflict, and a society that had had enough. This would allow Ukraine to reclaim the initiative and retake large swaths of territory. But from here, things get even...

The Ukraine war won't end until NATO withdraws troops from the Baltics, a top Russian official has warned. Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister responsible for U.S. relations, nonproliferation and arms control, made the remarks in an interview with state-run news agency Tass.

The literature on Chinese warfare is replete with descriptions of how the country will annex Taiwan. The date usually bandied about by China watchers is 2027 for a successful amphibious attack on the island. This would be preceded by a shock and awe bombardment campaign aimed at bringing the city of Taipei to its knees. But another Chinese gambit would provide less violence but still do significant damage to the Taiwanese government and its residents. I am referring to a blockade or quarantine by the Chinese navy and a no-fly zone executed by its air force.

I know no one likes to watch the Republican warmongers advocate for expanded intervention, conflict and escalated global violence as a means for them to retain power. However, this is one of those sickening points of advocacy that need to be watched and listened to very carefully.Mike McCaul is Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and he has never experienced a war he didn’t enjoy. McCaul notes he is happy for the House to receive a sanction package against Russia from Lindsey Graham that will likely be voted on in the Senate tomorrow. Last week the Senate met with...

Russia launched what Ukraine said would be the largest air assault of the war to date, with nearly 500 missiles and drones airborne, prompting Warsaw to scramble NATO air assets to protect its airspace. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 479 drones, four ballistic missiles, and 16 cruise missiles against its territory overnight. If the figures are accurate, it would make Sunday evening the biggest Russian air raid against Ukraine in the course of the over-three-year war to date, and underlines the ability of the combatants to sustain ever-larger drone attacks as the conflict goes on, given Russia launched another...

During the Istanbul talks between Russia and Ukraine, when presented with Moscow’s demand that Kiev’s troops must withdraw from territory of the four regions that they have partially conquered (Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhie and Kherson), the Ukrainian delegation reacted with a strong rejection of this point. It’s been widely reported that, at this point, Russian negotiators warned their foes: ‘Next time, it won’t be four regions, but six or eight’. That could, of course, be nothing but bragging, except that today the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that units of the 90th Tank Division have reached & crossed the western border...

For decades, the bedrock rationale for NATO’s existence has been the formidable conventional and nuclear threat Russia posed. However, recent geopolitical realities necessitate a critical re-evaluation of this foundational premise.Russia, the very reason for NATO’s enduring vigilance, increasingly reveals itself as a waning power. Its protracted and costly war against Ukraine has demonstrably exposed severe limitations in military capability, logistical resilience, and strategic foresight. Despite its historical might and nuclear arsenal, Russia has failed to decisively defeat a significantly smaller neighbor after years of brutal conflict.This protracted stalemate suggests that Moscow’s capacity for conventional expansion is severely diminished, and its...

Let’s dispense with the fantasy right off the bat: Russia isn’t trembling at the prospect of new sanctions. Not now. Not after more than three years of war, hundreds of billions in Western aid to Ukraine, multiple tranches of punitive economic measures, and an endless cycle of condemnations and diplomatic theater. If Congress moves forward with another sanctions package this summer – as seems increasingly likely – Moscow won’t respond with panic. It will respond with calculation. Cold, strategic, and utterly unimpressed.