Free Republic

Big things are happening at the White House right now. The rumors started earlier today, Trump had either reached a deal with Iran or he has rejected a deal and would increase the bombings. Secretary Rubio dropped a hint on Saturday that the next step in the Iran war/conflict/whatever would be decided imminently. And it appears that Trump has gathered his top officials to Washington immediately, reportedly to discuss a draft of a deal proposed by Iran. JD Vance was rushed to the White House, interrupting his Ohio Memorial Day weekend plans. Secretary Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs...

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz means virtually no gas has left Qatar’s shore for more than two months. The nation is also cut off from the sea routes through which it imports everything from vehicles to produce. Fears of regional instability have hurt tourism and eroded business sentiment. Ras Laffan, Qatar’s industrial center for gas production, is shuttered, and roads are blocked. At the vast Hamad port south of Doha, loading cranes stand paralyzed. Throughout the capital, hotels and boutiques sit in noticeable silence. Qatar’s growth forecasts have been slashed amid the cessation of L.N.G. trade. For Qatar,...

A new Toyota dealer bulletin is starting to spread online, and it’s raising a question most enthusiasts never expected to ask in 2026: why is Toyota suddenly telling dealers to substitute engine oil? The internal document (2026-013), dated April 30, 2026, warns Toyota Parts and Service Managers about temporary supply issues involving Toyota Genuine Motor Oil 0W-8 and 0W-16. According to the bulletin, Toyota and ExxonMobil “may experience challenges in fulfilling demand” due to “production and logistics constraints within the global petrochemical supply chain.” And honestly, the timing is hard to ignore. Toyota Is Reportedly Facing A Supply Issue With...

PARIS, May 18 (Reuters) - Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said on Monday ​that commercial oil inventories were depleting rapidly with only a few weeks worth ‌left due to the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Birol, who is participating in the Group of Seven finance leaders meeting in Paris, told reporters that the release of strategic oil reserves ​had added 2.5 million barrels of oil per day to the market, but ​said these reserves "are not endless". The onset of the spring planting and summer ⁠travel seasons in the northern...

Kuwait has struck Aytatoilet speed boats and taken IRGC on board into custody. Iran Ayatoiletry threatens revenge, calls it illegal. Bibi says he secretly visited UAE during start of war, UAE denies it. China has publicly said it is against IRGC plan to charge tolls to shipping at the Strait. And so on and so forth and doobie doobie doobie. Transcript linked below video.

Asked by the far-left Drop Site News if Iran reached out to the US since the beginning of the operation to attempt to reach a deal, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Esmail Baghaei answered with a strong no. "Do you think any Iranian with common sense would be in a position to reach out to the United States under these circumstances? We were negotiating with the US. In just less than one year, we were betrayed," he insisted. Iran Army Spokesperson: “Our people’s and armed forces’ resilience stopped the enemy from achieving any goals. Controlling the Strait of Hormuz will bring...

Saudi fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Iran-linked Shi’ite militia targets inside Iraq during the Iran war, while retaliatory strikes were also launched from Kuwait into Iraqi territory, Reuters reported citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. Sources cited by Reuters included three Iraqi military and security officials, a Western official and two people briefed on the matter, including one in the United States. According to one Western official and another source familiar with the operations, Saudi air force fighter jets targeted Iran-backed militia positions near the kingdom’s northern border with Iraq. The Western official said some of the Saudi...

It is too early to foretell the future production from the Arckaringa Basin. There are numerous steps before oil production can start. For example, a 300-kilometre pipeline to Port Bonython, or a spur to link the Arckaringa Basin to the existing Moomba-Port Bonython pipeline, will need to be built before any oil could reach the market. Crude oil storage and export capacity at Port Bonython will also have to be increased significantly to accommodate extra crude.There is likely to be bipartisan support for shale oil production in South Australia. However the potential for carbon-intensive shale production in South Australia is...

“Operation Epic Fury was the loud one. Operation Economic Fury is the quiet one. . . . While the carriers were on television, Treasury was doing the actual demolition.” —Jesús Enrique Rosas on X Expect a consequential week. The Persian Gulf remains closed and colossal oil slicks leak out of Kharg Island while Iran blusters and stomps its feet. No one can even try to buy its oil anymore, not even China. The sanctions are too onerous. Iran’s wells must be shut in now. Imagine how the production chiefs out in the oil fields are howling at their insane IRGC...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military said Monday that two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz after it launched a new plan to restore traffic. Iran has effectively closed the critical waterway since the U.S. and Israel launched the war in late February.U.S. President Donald Trump's new initiative to break Iran's chokehold has escalated the standoff. The U.S. military denied Iran's claims that it had struck an American Navy vessel. The United Arab Emirates meanwhile issued its first missile alert since a ceasefire reached in early April and accused Iran of targeting an...

MIDDLE EAST — An oil tanker has managed to slip through the Strait of Hormuz completely undetected after donning a giant fake nose and mustache. The tanker, known as the Delta Magnus, nonchalantly floated in disguise past both the Iranian and American blockades, leaving both sides none the wiser.

A spokesman for Iran’s terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) condemned the United States on Friday for conducting what U.S. Central Command referred to as “self-defense strikes” to protect American assets in the region, claiming that it had responded and caused “significant damage.” Central Command (CENTCOM), the wing of the American armed forces responsible for operations in the Middle East, revealed on Thursday that it had “intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes,” destroying the Iranian assets used in the attack. CENTCOM described a flurry of “missiles, drones, and small boats approaching American naval assets and attacking, but...

Just yesterday, the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Beijing, meeting with his counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The two ministers reportedly discussed bilateral ties, the Iran-U.S. conflict, the Strait of Hormuz, and regional issues. But today, as Araghchi is already back in Tehran, the unpredictable happened, with the Iranians reportedly striking a Chinese-owned cargo ship in the Hormuz waterways. The attack was confirmed by US Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz. “A Chinese-owned oil products tanker was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, Chinese media outlet Caixin reported, as President Donald Trump launched a...

Dubai: Defying international law governing global waterways, Iran is trying to force shippers to comply with a new protocol for transiting the Strait of Hormuz — or risk attack. According to a document seen by CNN, Tehran has introduced new rules for vessels seeking passage through the strategic waterway, pressing ahead with efforts to formalise control over Hormuz despite repeated US and regional warnings. The document, titled “Vessel Information Declaration,” was issued by Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA). It requires vessels transiting Hormuz to submit detailed information, including ownership, crew nationalities, cargo details and voyage plans, before...

"Saudi Arabia is reported to have told him its airspace cannot be used for operations." Donald Trump has suffered a major operational setback as he has been reportedly told by Saudi Arabia that the US cannot use their airspace, says former US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, David Satterfield.

MS NOW's Morning Joe descended into juvenile innuendo on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, as host Joe Scarborough repeatedly mocked Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) over U.S. policy on the Strait of Hormuz by hammering the homophone “strait/straight.” In a segment criticizing the Trump administration’s handling of the Iran conflict, Scarborough launched into a repetitive riff while adopting his signature faux-folksy persona: “You know, Lindsey goes, ‘It’s all about the Strait. Everything’s about the Strait. We’re doing this, it’s all about the Strait. Say it’s all about the Strait.’” This isn’t Scarborough’s first time using this kind of Beavis & Butthead personal...

A French-owned container ship was “struck by an unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz overnight, causing damage to the vessel and injuring crew members, the owner has confirmed. Container ship San Antonio was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday night while transiting the Strait of Hormuz eastward — out of the Gulf and towards India — triggering an evacuation operation to get crew injured in the attack to medical care. The ship, which is owned by French Marseille-headquartered maritime transport group Compagnie maritime d’affrètement – Compagnie générale maritime (Maritime Freighting Company – General Maritime Company, CMA CGM)...

WASHINGTON — The US and Iran are nearing agreement on a memorandum of understanding to end their nine-and-a-half-week war and lay out plans for talks about the future of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, a Pakistani source familiar with mediation efforts told The Post Wednesday.“There are documents,” the source said, referring to multiple versions of the potential agreement. “Which one will be approved is under discussion.”Separately, Reuters quoted a Pakistani source as saying of a potential deal: “We will close this very soon. We are getting close.”

Beijing's empire isn't built on factories, AI labs, or rare earths. It's built on a single nation the West spent two decades dismissing — Iran. And the day Tehran's regime falls, the entire architecture China assembled over thirty years folds inward like wet cardboard. In this deep dive, we expose the hidden financial, energy, and geographic dependencies binding Beijing to Tehran — from the secret yuan-settled oil deals and the petroyuan experiment, to the Belt and Road's only viable land corridor, to the $9–12 billion annual "shadow fleet" subsidy quietly underwriting Chinese export manufacturing. We examine why China cannot quietly...

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Monday she would not support any decision by President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. troops from Italy. "It is a decision that doesn't depend on me and one that I personally would not agree with," Meloni told reporters in Yerevan, Armenia, on the sidelines of a European Political Community summit. Asked whether Washington would consider pulling its troops out of ​Italy and Spain, Trump last week answered "probably". Meloni added she would likely meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is due to travel to Rome later this week for talks,...