Although Donald Trump insists that the Strait of Hormuz is open, it ain’t. There are no direct talks between Iran and US representatives. In fact, it looks like Pakistan’s attempt at mediation is going nowhere. Iran has been talking with Oman, but those talks — despite claims of progress — appear to have stalled. Iran...

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a trilateral defense pact on Friday, ostensibly binding three of the Muslim world’s most militarily and economically significant states into a mutual-defense arrangement, but the details of the agreement have not been published. Signed in the holy city of Mecca by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President...

I remain skeptical that the US and Iran will soon reach an agreement regarding the Strait of Hormuz. The US wants it open to all ships and strongly opposes Iran charging any kind of fee or toll for ships entering or leaving the Persian Gulf. Iran’s position is unchanged… It is going to collect a...

Cybele Mayes-Osterman, a reporter at the USA Today, wrote a story on April 16 that buried the lede… The enlisted personnel on board ships deployed to the Iranian war zone are not being adequately fed. Her article — Cookies, deodorant, socks. Iran war puts military packages in limbo — carried a misleading title, most likely...

Robert Barnes’ 1776 Conference is a great event. I took a selfie — posted above — with some of the key participants. President Trump announced Saturday night that he is canceling a planned bombing campaign against Iran, saying negotiators had reached a rough framework for an agreement — an eleventh-hour reversal that pulls the five-month...

No podcasts today. I traveled from Florida to Tennessee to attend Robert Barnes’ 1776 LAW CENTER CONVENTION, where I will be speaking along with Daniel Davis, Alexander Mercouris and Alex Christoforou, among others. I did find an excellent Pub: Hair of the Dog. You can smoke cigars, eat great food and drink a pint for...

Short answer… I think so. On Wednesday July 29, 2026, at roughly 3:20 pm CET, a drone struck the Energos Winter — a Marshall Islands-flagged floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) owned by US company New Fortress Energy — on its starboard side at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta, in the northern Nile Delta. The...

We are seeing a major escalation in the Red Sea in the undeclared war between AnsarAllah and Saudi Arabia and this may spill over to the war the US is waging on Iran. As I write this the Houthis have retaliated to a Saudi attack on the Houthi-held port of Hodeidah. So let’s go through...

Donald Trump made news briefly this week by proposing civil nuclear cooperation with Saudi Arabia that includes support for building nuclear reactors using US technology. This is not actually a new development. Discussions between the US and Saudi Arabia on a formal civil nuclear cooperation agreement (known as a “123 Agreement” under the U.S. Atomic...

What’s going on with the Israeli hardliners? Following a security cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Smotrich said: The current situation, in which the conflict between Iran and the United States remains limited, is the right one and the best for us. We are not looking to get involved. He elaborated that Israel’s...

Did you hear the story about Ukraine’s glorious defeat of the Russian army? Western media outlets during the last four weeks have been touting the amazing success of the Ukrainian army. So ask yourself… If you’re winning the war with Russia why do you fire the commanding general who is bringing you this massive victory?...

Hat tip to Kevin Wamsley of Inside China Business. His recent video explaining the importance of China’s Beidou satellite navigation system provides a critical insight into the current success of Iran’s missile strikes on US and Israeli targets. It is a game changer. Here’s the video: Let me summarize it. During the 12-day war in...

Trump, in the midst of a rapidly escalating war with Iran, had nothing better to do on Thursday night than launch a verbal attack on China for alleged meddling in the 2020 election. Now let me state up front that I believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, but it was not because...

On Monday July 13, airstrikes hit the runway at Sanaa International Airport shortly after a Houthi delegation returned from the funeral in Iran for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Yemen’s Defense Minister Gen. Taher al-Aqili said on X that the runway was struck to stop a plane carrying the Houthi delegation returning from Khamenei’s funeral....

Iran’s announcement declaring the MoU dead was quickly followed by a definitive change in Iran’s military tactics. On Tuesday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi: ‘The U.S. has not merely ‘violated’ the Memorandum of Understanding. With tonight’s action (naval blockade) the MoU has been completely dismantled. Iran is no longer bound by the MoU. Until...

It has been a while since I have written about Russia and the war in Ukraine, but Vladimir Putin’s speech on Tuesday (23 June) to graduates of Russia’s higher military academies and security institutions (military cadets/officers) at the Kremlin merits attention because it carries an indirect but profound warning to the West. This was a...

While the US certainly suffered some reputational damage and significant economic costs from its unprovoked attack on Iran, the United Arab Emirates may really be the big loser. Let’s focus on Dubai. Think of Dubai as the World’s most expensive adult theme park that has no emergency exit. For decades, Dubai sold itself to the...

It is open. Nope, it is closed. Wait… It is open. What? Closed again? If you are following the media reports on the Strait of Hormuz you are probably dizzy from hearing about the changing status of the Strait of Hormuz. If you think that getting a firm agreement between Iran and the US to...

As of the week ending June 12, 2026, the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) held approximately 340.25 million barrels of crude oil… Sounds like a lot, but it is approaching the danger zone. In late May, that number was 372 million barrels, which consisted of Sweet crude: ~142 MMB | Sour crude: ~230 MMB, according...

My old friend and new collaborator, Pepe Escobar, along with Mr. Z, broke news Friday afternoon regarding relations between the US and Iran (I’ve posted the video below). Despite the MoU stipulation that: by signing this memorandum of understanding, declare an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, and commit...