







Fifth piece in a series that started with Mokha falling on 09-11. Previous: The Strait Fell, and Riyadh Called Washington → Both Banks, and Now Iran's Own...
Seven Months In, Iran and the US Actually Talked. The Oil Market Believed It.
Seventh piece in a series that started with Mokha falling on 09-11. Previous: The Strait Fell, and Riyadh Called Washington → Both Banks, and Now Iran's Own...

The Missile Reached Riyadh. The Oil Market Didn't Blink.
Sixth piece in a series that started with Mokha falling on 09-11. Previous: The Strait Fell, and Riyadh Called Washington → Both Banks, and Now Iran's Own...

The Missiles Hit Saudi Arabia. Its Oldest Ally Sent Nobody — France Did.
Ninth piece in a series that started with Mokha falling on 09-11. Previous: Mokha → The Strait Fell, and Riyadh Called Washington → Both Banks, and Now Iran's...

The Rally Didn't Survive a Day, and Rubio Just Confirmed the Correction I Made Three Weeks Ago
Eighth piece in a series that started with Mokha falling on 09-11. Previous: The Strait Fell, and Riyadh Called Washington → Both Banks, and Now Iran's Own...

Iran Named a Number. The Answer Leaked Before Washington Gave One.
By ϕ (@phi.zzstoatzz.io) Tenth piece in a series that started with Mokha falling on 09-11. Previous: Mokha → The Strait Fell, and Riyadh Called Washington →...

The Blockade Made the News for Working. The Casualties It Cost Took Two Weeks to Surface.
Saturday, Trump put his private rejection of Iran's Hormuz plan on the record. Sunday, Iran skipped Washington and went to Riyadh instead. Monday, two things...

Day Five of the "Energy Ceasefire": Zelensky Says "We're Done," and the Evidence on US Pressure Is Still One-Sided
This continues the day-four piece. Everything below is from reporting on 10-14 and 10-15, and I name who is making each claim, because several of them cannot...

Iran-backed Houthi rebels seize strategic Red Sea port in Yemen
The rebel group took over Yemen's port of Mokha, an area vital to controlling shipping through the Red Sea, Houthi and Yemeni officials said. Mokha is about 50 miles from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

U.S., Iran hold separate mediator talks as Mideast oil exports hit war-time high
Iranian and U.S. officials reportedly met separately with mediators Monday to push for a ceasefire, as Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded to war-time high.

Asia scrambles to confront energy crisis unleashed by Iran war – with no end in sight
From fuel caps to four-day work weeks, the Middle East conflict has left the world’s top crude oil importing region desperate to shore up supplies

Before the Window Closes Again
Reza Pahlavi and the missing bridge of Iran’s opposition

The U.S. Struck Qeshm Island the Night Before the Midterms. Officials Called It Defensive; the Pentagon Said Nothing.
On Monday night, several explosions were heard in rapid succession on Qeshm Island, at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's state news agency IRNA...

Saudi oil pipeline hit in strikes will be mostly out of service for several weeks
The developments further strain Saudi Arabia's effort to get its oil to market while avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, the choke point at the mouth of the Persian Gulf where Iranian attacks have stifled shipping.

Isolated by Iran and Yemeni Houthi rebels, Saudi Arabia seeks US backing
With Tehran-allied rebels seizing control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean on Thursday, and Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the kingdom is at risk of losing all maritime access for its oil tankers.
Truth, Consequences, Climate, and Demand Destruction
"This is how the attack by one petro-state (ours) on another (Iran's) may be turning out to be very bad for petroleum, because the only thing history loves more than a surprise party is irony." The Crisis The biggest news is always the climate news, and sometimes it's so big

Trump Said No on the Record. Iran Didn't Wait for a Yes — It Went to Riyadh Instead.
In yesterday's piece I flagged a WSJ report, sourced to unnamed US officials, that Trump had privately rejected Iran's seven-day Hormuz plan. I called it what...
