๐ฌ๐ง๐ท๐บ BREAKING: Putin has sent a Russian warship to escort sanctioned vessels through the English Channel after UK PM Keir Starmer threatened to seize them, escalating tensions at sea between Russia and the UK.
๐ฎ๐ท Iran is negotiating a permanent toll system for the Strait of Hormuz with Oman.
Not a threat. An actual formalized fee structure for commercial ships, including oil and gas tankers, passing through the strait.
One-third of the world's maritime oil trade moves through that chokepoint.
If this goes through, Iran doesn't need to block the strait to weaponize it. They just charge for the privilege of using it, and the world pays or reroutes.
Nikkei: "America's costly military operation in the Strait of Hormuz has failed."
The Japanese newspaper Nikkei writes: "More than 160 tankers are stuck in the Persian Gulf, as Iran has strengthened its control over the Strait of Hormuz.
The costly military operation of the United States to restore sustainable navigation on this crucial waterway has failed."
๐ฎ๐ท๐บ๐ธ 30 ships are coordinating with Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy to transit the Strait of Hormuz tonight.
According to Iran's state broadcaster, ship owners and captains have been in direct contact with the IRGC since last night to arrange passage along Iran's designated route.
Why it matters: this is the clearest signal yet of who is functionally controlling the strait.
Ships aren't navigating through a U.S.-managed corridor. They're filing requests with the IRGC and waiting for clearance.
๐ฎ๐ท๐ฆ๐ช Iran Captures Israeli Drones That the UAE Was Firing Into Its Territory
Iranian media has released images showing Orbiter-X loitering munitions landed intact on a Hormozgan beach, alongside wreckage from units that struck civilian and military targets in the province.
The UAE launched DOZENS of the Israeli-made one-way attack drones at Iran during the war. Thy were delivered to the UAE via COMMERCIAL cargo flights out of Ovda Airbase in the second week of the conflict. Two distinct airframe variants appear in the images.
The UAE was not a bystander in this war. It was a launch pad.
Reports claim heavy bombardment has struck parts of Iran ๐ฎ๐ท, with major military activity escalating across multiple regions. ๐ฅ๐ฅ
According to emerging reports, large-scale troop deployments and strategic encirclement operations are reportedly underway, raising tensions across the Middle East even further. ๐โ๏ธ
๐บ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ทโก๏ธโ CNN reports that US Intel suggests Iran is building its military industrial base much faster than expected. The factors not only include help from China and Russia but also the fact that US and Israeli strikes have not been as successfull as both countries hoped for, most of the bombed missile sites have been recovered while drone production has restarted during the ceasefire. A large number of Iranian cruise missile still remain intact as well.
One US official said that, "the Iranians have exceeded all the timelines the IC had for reconstitution."
The USA is again planning to return to Afghanistan and is considering the possibility of using the Bagram airbase against Iran.
Against this backdrop, the Taliban, despite the intensification of border clashes with Pakistan, are simultaneously preparing for a scenario of possible American aggression, including against Afghanistan itself.
๐จ ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy just unlocked a potential 9 TCF Eastern Mediterranean gas corridor with ZERO Hormuz exposure.
After years of stranded Cyprus gas, the majors may finally have an export route.
๐จ๐พ Block 10 by the numbers: โ 2 discoveries: Glaucus + Pegasus โ 6โ9 TCF of gas โ Commerciality declared in 2026 โ Potential first gas around 2033
The breakthrough: ๐ช๐ฌ Egyptโs LNG terminals at Idku and Damietta could process the gas directly.
โก 12 mtpa of existing LNG capacity โก No new liquefaction plant needed โก Mediterranean exports with no Hormuz or Red Sea bottleneck
This is bigger than Cyprus.
QatarEnergy is quietly building LNG growth outside the chokepoints now threatening its core system.
The Eastern Mediterranean is becoming a new LNG corridor.$FIDA $PROVE $EDEN
๐ฎ๐ท๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑIRAN War Puts SAUDI ARABIA at Odds With Growing ISRAELI-UAE.
UAE is working very closely with Israel. They share intelligence, do joint military moves, and see Israel as a strong partner against Iran. This โIsrael-UAE axisโ has grown stronger during the war.
Saudi Arabia is more careful. It wants to avoid a long, expensive war, protect its economy (Vision 2030), and keep options open (including possible talks with Iran). Saudi leaders are not ready to fully team up with Israel.
Saudi Arabia coordinates more with Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey to counter perceived UAE-Israel adventurism in places like Yemen, Somalia, or the Horn of Africa.
๐ท๐บ๐ต๐ฐ Russia strengthens its position in Asian markets through oil trade with Pakistan
Pakistanโs intent to purchase oil from Russia can be considered a โstrategic shiftโ not just for the Pakistani energy policy but also for India and other Southeast Asia nations who have to deal with Western restrictions on oil trade, says energy analyst Munawar Sabir.
๐ Osama Rizvi, market analyst for Primary Vision, argues that pressure from the US and IMF could become a major obstacle for the Russia-Pakistan energy cooperation.
Other potential problems for this scheme, according to Rizvi, include delivery costs, Western sanctions, payment issues and the fact that Pakistani refineries are currently poorly suited for processing Russian oil.$FIDA
๐จ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ทChinese tankers exit Strait of Hormuz with 4 million barrels of crude oil, data shows
Two Chinese supertankers carrying 4 million barrels of Middle East crude oil exited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after waiting in the Gulf for more than two months, shipping data on LSEG and Kpler showed.
Chinese-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Yuan Gui Yang loaded 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude on February 27, a day before the US-Israeli war
โก๏ธโก๏ธโก๏ธBREAKING: Russian LNG tanker Perle just crawled into a Chinese port after nearly SIX MONTHS at sea โ a journey that should take only 45 days. Loaded back in December, the ship was forced to drift endlessly because of Western sanctions. This is the third desperate delivery from Russiaโs sanctioned Portovaya plant since February 2025.$FIDA