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Iran’s conventional navy is largely gone. The threat to the Strait of Hormuz is not

Iran’s conventional navy is largely gone. The threat to the Strait of Hormuz is not

RFE/RL reports: The United States and Israel have largely destroyed Iran’s conventional naval fleet in a massive bombing campaign since February 28. But Tehran’s threat to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping routes, has not diminished. Iran has effectively closed the narrow waterway, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil supplies flow, by using asymmetric warfare tactics. Besides Iran’s conventional navy, the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the elite branch of the country’s…

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Attacks on ME desalination plants highlight risks of near-total dependence on ‘fossil fuel water’

Attacks on ME desalination plants highlight risks of near-total dependence on ‘fossil fuel water’

Inside Climate News reports: Recent attacks in the Middle East on desalination plants, facilities that remove salt from seawater, raise the potential for a humanitarian crisis if the region’s freshwater production facilities are subjected to more widespread destruction. The attacks also underscore the region’s heavy reliance on an energy-intensive method of producing drinking water that is powered almost entirely by fossil fuels. On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of striking a desalination plant in southern…

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Escalating Hormuz crisis raises specter of prolonged closure

Escalating Hormuz crisis raises specter of prolonged closure

The Wall Street Journal reports: Escalating Iranian attacks and the U.S. government’s decision to hold off on military escorts for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz are raising the prospect of a prolonged closure that would choke off exports through the world’s most important energy-transport route. On Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck three cargo ships attempting to transit the waterway, the only sea route out of the Persian Gulf. It warned that any other vessels trying to…

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Oman evacuates key oil port as Iran war intensifies

Oman evacuates key oil port as Iran war intensifies

OilPrice.com reports: Oman has ordered the evacuation of vessels from its key Mina Al Fahal oil port, which sits outside the Strait of Hormuz, in a sign that the disruption to oil supply is spreading in the Middle Eastern ports that don’t need passage through the world’s most critical chokepoint. All vessels were told to evacuate Mina Al Fahal, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, as attacks on regional energy infrastructure intensify and tankers and cargo vessels are now being targeted more…

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The other global crisis stemming from the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz

The other global crisis stemming from the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz

Noah Gordon and Lucy Corthell write: The Gulf region is a key producer not only of liquified natural gas (LNG) and oil products but also of fertilizer. About one-third of global seaborne trade in fertilizers typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been nearly entirely closed since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. In particular, Gulf countries are important producers of nitrogen fertilizers, which depend primarily on natural gas burned at high pressure in the presence of hydrogen to synthesize ammonia. (The…

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How ‘Handala’ became the face of Iran’s hacker counterattacks

How ‘Handala’ became the face of Iran’s hacker counterattacks

Wired reports: Since the United States and Israel first unleashed a broad campaign of air strikes across Iran in late February, the cybersecurity industry has warned that the country’s retaliatory measures would include punishing, disruptive cyberattacks against Western targets. Late Tuesday night, the first of those attacks arrived in the US: a devastating breach of the medical technology firm Stryker that has reportedly disabled as many as tens of thousands of computers and paralyzed much of the company’s global operations—all…

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As it controls the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is now exporting more oil than it was before the war

As it controls the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is now exporting more oil than it was before the war

The Wall Street Journal reports: Iran is exporting more oil through the Strait of Hormuz than before the war, showing it is in control of a strategic waterway that it has closed off to the rest of the region’s oil producers. As Gulf Arab oil producers from Saudi Arabia to Iraq cut production and scramble for new routes that bypass the strait, Iran is conducting business as usual, according to data from tanker-tracking firm Kpler, throwing a financial lifeline to…

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Iranian drone strike hits Oman’s largest oil storage facility

Iranian drone strike hits Oman’s largest oil storage facility

OilPrice.com reports: Iranian drones struck oil storage facilities at the Port of Salalah in Oman on Wednesday, marking the latest attack on Gulf energy infrastructure as the regional war expands into a full-scale confrontation over global oil supply. Fuel storage tanks at the port were hit in the strike, according to maritime security firm Ambrey and Omani state media, though no merchant vessels in the area were damaged. OSINT account Visioner shared video footage of the oil storage facilities after…

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The White House that didn’t foresee global oil supply disruption, isn’t panicking about oil prices

The White House that didn’t foresee global oil supply disruption, isn’t panicking about oil prices

Politico reports: The Trump administration believes it can withstand a brief spike in oil prices — for as many as four weeks, as one person close to the White House suggested — before the political hit does lasting damage. Administration officials’ confidence was bolstered Tuesday when oil dropped to $80 per barrel, down from $120 this weekend, reinforcing their view that the spikes are temporary and manageable. They have three to four weeks “where they can ride out what they…

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Trump running out of options in face of economic or naval catastrophe

Trump running out of options in face of economic or naval catastrophe

CNN reports: The Trump administration is currently trapped between the specter of a global economic recession and a naval catastrophe. As the conflict with Iran intensifies, the world’s energy arteries are constricting to a point of “nonlinearity,” where every day the Strait of Hormuz remains closed doesn’t just double the economic pain — it multiplies it exponentially. So, the Trump administration is working to resolve the oil crisis on several fronts: It’s scrambling to organize a complex military operation to…

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Aramco sees ‘catastrophic consequences’ for oil markets if Hormuz strait remains blocked

Aramco sees ‘catastrophic consequences’ for oil markets if Hormuz strait remains blocked

Reuters reports: Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, the world’s top oil exporter, said on Tuesday there would be “catastrophic consequences” for the world’s oil ​markets if the Iran war continues to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil shipments have been largely blocked from using the shipping artery, where normally ‌roughly 20% of the world’s oil would pass through daily. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they would not allow “one litre of oil” to be shipped from the Middle East…

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U.S. Navy contradicts Trump by telling shipping industry Hormuz escorts not possible for now

U.S. Navy contradicts Trump by telling shipping industry Hormuz escorts not possible for now

Reuters reports: The U.S. Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since ​the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, according to sources familiar with the matter. The ‌Navy’s assessments spell continued disruption to Middle East oil exports and reflect a divergence from President Donald Trump’s statements that the U.S. is prepared to provide naval escorts whenever needed to restart regular…

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The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran is by far the biggest oil supply disruption in history

The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran is by far the biggest oil supply disruption in history

CNBC reports: The U.S. war against Iran has triggered the largest oil supply disruption in history, more than double the previous record set during the Middle East crisis of the 1950s, according to an analysis by consulting firm Rapidan Energy. About 20% of the world’s oil supply has been disrupted for nine days now as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains at a standstill. Crude prices have surged above $100 per barrel in response. The biggest disruption before…

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Middle East oil crisis: What is America’s real ‘endgame’ in Iran?

Middle East oil crisis: What is America’s real ‘endgame’ in Iran?

  The war in Iran is already sending shockwaves far beyond the battlefield. Stock markets are sinking, Brent crude has jumped above $100 a barrel, and G7 governments are considering tapping emergency reserves to steady the markets. Missiles landing close to critical Gulf energy infrastructure have sharpened fears that what began as a regional confrontation could tip the global economy into something far more dangerous. The real question is whether this crisis can be contained, and if not, how vulnerable…

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In the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, Russia reaps the benefits

In the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, Russia reaps the benefits

The Associated Press reports: As U.S. and Israeli missiles and bombs rain on Iran, Russia has responded with words of indignation but no visible action to support its Middle Eastern ally. That cautious stance is driven by President Vladimir Putin’s focus on Ukraine and his apparent hope that the Iran war will play into Moscow’s hands by boosting its oil revenues and eroding Western support for Kyiv. Putin sent his condolences to Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, condemning the killing of…

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Iran is ready for a long war with the U.S. Only economic pain will end it, senior official says

Iran is ready for a long war with the U.S. Only economic pain will end it, senior official says

CNN reports: A top Iranian official has warned that the government is prepared for a long war with the US and signaled that it is willing to continue attacking Gulf countries in an effort to persuade them to convince President Donald Trump to step back from the conflict. The warning came in an exclusive CNN interview in Tehran with Kamal Kharazi, foreign policy adviser to the office of the Supreme Leader, who ruled out diplomacy for now and said the…

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