Trump Authorizes Military Operations Against Iran

Roughly 20 percent of global oil and liquefied-natural-gas supplies used to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Atlantic. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been reduced by about 90 percent from some 120 to 150 daily transits to a handful, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Brent crude reached its highest level in four years at $126 a barrel this week, according to The Atlantic.

18, according to The Atlantic. President Trump met with American energy executives at the White House on Tuesday to warn them that the blockade may persist for weeks or more, according to The Atlantic. The World Bank forecasts a 16 percent rise in food-commodity prices this year driven by increased transport costs and the supply squeeze on the fertilizer industry which relies on exports from the Gulf.

The International Energy Agency said that the world is on the brink of the biggest energy security threat in history. Two major pipelines cross Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea and both are already running at capacity, according to The Atlantic. The Red Sea is vulnerable to disruption by Houthi militias supported by Iran, according to The Atlantic.

The Habshan–Fujairah pipeline brings oil from a major field in the United Arab Emirates to the port of Fujairah which sits on the other side of the strait from Iran, according to The Atlantic. The UAE government could expand facilities at Fujairah, according to The Atlantic.

An Iraqi-Turkish pipeline can move oil to the Mediterranean but that would add miles and time to shipping routes, according to The Atlantic.

The UAE announced on Tuesday that it was leaving OPEC, according to The Atlantic. Daily oil output in Saudi Arabia is down by 600,000 barrels because of Iranian strikes, according to a Saudi state news agency. The Fujairah port has been targeted by Iranian forces in the past two months, according to The Atlantic.

Iran hit energy infrastructure in neighboring countries in the past two months, according to The Atlantic. Anna Kelly said in a statement that the blockade will continue until Iran makes an agreement that is acceptable to the United States and the Strait is international water and we are not going to let Iran toll the Strait.

Richard Haass said that a multinational consortium to administer the waterway perhaps charging a modest toll might be the least bad option but that also would not preclude Iran from someday moving to shut the strait again and one of the ironies of this war is that Iran discovered that it had this weapon and there was so much talk about nuclear ability but they have the strait.

Fred Kagan said that we need to demonstrate we’re actually not prepared to leave the strait that way and US adversaries need to hear that if they are going to try to close a critical waterway or a critical choke point they are going to pay a price one they find unacceptable.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Monday appearance on Fox News that the US would not tolerate Iran trying to normalize its control of the strait. At least 21 US ships are now in the region a level not seen since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, according to The Atlantic.

Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst told Congress yesterday that the conflict so far had cost $25 billion. Representative Ro Khanna of California claimed during the same hearing yesterday that the war will cost the average American household $5,000 a year in increased gas and food prices. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week found that President Trump’s approval rating stood at 34 percent.

China has urged reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Atlantic. President Trump is concerned that the Strait of Hormuz issue could complicate his summit with Xi Jinping in Beijing in a little over two weeks, according to a senior White House official. No further negotiations are scheduled between the US and Iran, according to The Atlantic.

US forces struck more than 13,000 targets in Iran, according to Trump-administration officials. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies estimates that Iran has absorbed roughly $144 billion in economic damage about 40 percent of its prewar GDP since the war began.

Vice President Vance and some Pentagon officials have privately expressed concern about the rate at which the US military burned through weapons supplies in the first two months of the war.

Iran suggested on Sunday to delay dealing with the future of its nuclear program while the two sides figure out how to handle the strait, according to Axios. President Trump asserted on Truth Social on Tuesday that Iran was in a State of Collapse and wanted to soon open the strait which Tehran also relies on to export its oil and gas. 49 cash price per gallon, according to Inside Climate News.

Veronica Cervantes, 54, from Los Angeles said she does not go out as much as she did, goes walking to nearby places, and does not shop to afford the skyrocketing price of gasoline over the last two months. Tehran’s retaliatory missile and drone attacks targeted Gulf Cooperation Council members, according to Responsible Statecraft.

The American-Israeli war on Iran began before February 28, according to Responsible Statecraft.

The Trump administration disregarded Gulf Arab officials’ warnings against attacking Iran, according to Responsible Statecraft. Daniel Levy noted that the Greater Israel project aims to position Israel as a necessary security partner by exploiting Gulf states’ growing fears of Iran.

Israel is the Middle East’s most powerful military force renowned for its advanced technology and intelligence, according to Responsible Statecraft.