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 Ceasefire's Gone, the Talks Are Gone, and Nobody Agrees on the Tanker
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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
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.
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
The Shadow Dollar System
Iran built a parallel financial infrastructure on the same stablecoin rails the US just legitimized. That contradiction is not an accident.
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.
Iran, prices, ICE, and Epstein are the biggest stories of 2026
In a new database of news headlines stretching back to 2016, I show Trump's midterm convention failed to change news agendas
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...
A War for Oil: Economist Michael Hudson on U.S. Quest to Control the World's Oil Trade
Saudi Arabia, UAE urge Trump to maintain pressure on Iran - WSJ
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are urging Washington to maintain sanctions and its naval blockade of Iran, complicating efforts to restart peace talks as attacks threaten their oil exports, The Wall Street Journal reported.
