The Strait of Hormuz is closed. It's not going to get more closed than it already is. All the risk is now on the other side, i.e. when and to what extent it opens. You can bet Trump is very focused on that. The midterms depend on it. That caps oil prices... robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/what-can-m...

PROFOLUS: While the supreme leader dominates both the Iranian political and religious domains, the entire Iranian regime, especially its government structure, was built to last beyond its head of state.

Trump's decision to bomb Iran is now the greatest windfall to the Russian war effort on record. If it continues, it might save the Russian war economy.

Fire spreads at Bapco Refinery in Bahrain #UAE #Bahrain #Iran #Bapco #refinery

It's becoming increasingly obvious why no US president prior to Trump II ever gave Netanyahu the big war with Iran he's been demanding since 2002.

Plumes of smoke rose from the BAPCO oil company in Manama after it was struck by an Iranian drone.

Ouch.

Wheee

Third Ayatollah named as Mojtaba Khamenei.

Israel is going too far for Trump's liking, it seems; from Israel's N12 News: "Tensions between the US military and Israel over the attack on oil facilities in Iran."

"A senior US security official said: "The Israelis told us in advance about the attacks on the oil facilities, but they didn't say they would be this extensive. We don't think it was a good idea."" x.com/i/status/203...

🇪🇺 Europe may buy Russian gas and oil again in droves due to Trump's conflict with Iran - a serious blow for Ukraine, - WSJ The EU fears that the prolonged closure of the Persian Gulf will force it to reconsider its tough stance on energy cooperation with Moscow.

The U.S. was “dismayed” at the scale of Israel’s massive airstrikes against Iranian fuel infrastructure last night, believe that it would “backfire strategically, rallying Iranian society to support the regime.” -Axios

A #meteorite streaked across western #Germany on Sunday evening. Pictures and videos showed the luminous object. Parts of it fell in Rhineland-Palatinate, causing damage to houses. www.focus.de/panorama/wel...

BILD: "According to police, parts of a meteorite caused damage to roofs and houses in Rhineland-Palatinate. There are reports of damage from the Hunsrück, the Eifel and Koblenz, among others."

Iran’s Isfahan nuclear facility damaged after US-Israeli strikes on March 7. No radioactive contamination detected, says Iran’s National Nuclear Safety Center.

A US service member has died from wounds received in a March 1 attack in Saudi Arabia, raising the number of American troops killed in Iran war to 7. https://cnn.it/4b9lS5x

A Russian anti-jamming navigation chip Ukraine's air defenses first pulled from downed drones in December was found in the Iranian drone that struck the UK's RAF Akrotiri air base in Cyprus on 1 March, The Times says. 🔗 euromaidanpress.com/2026/03/08/i...

"The Gulf inquiries come as Ukraine has been scaling interceptor output to over 1,500 units per day domestically, with manufacturers assessed as producing roughly double what Ukraine's own military requires — leaving meaningful export capacity available."

At least 2 people were killed and 12 injured after an Iranian ballistic missile struck the city of Al-Kharj, east of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. The victims were foreign workers, with the two fatalities from India and Bangladesh. -Al Arabiya

Interesting double ISR mission over the Persian Gulf, with one of the assets involved being a US Navy MQ-4C Triton that departed from NAS Sigonella and may have briefly overflown Iranian territory. www.itamilradar.com/2026/03/08/u...

Video reportedly showing the moment Manib school was hit in Iran. t.me/enmehrnews/5...

BARTIROMO: Are you telling us you want the UAE and the Saudis to lash out and strike Iran right now? LINDSEY GRAHAM Yeah. I want them to get in the fight.

That’s why I said 60 days here btw. China has around 125 days in storage. It will take about 30-60 days for any Arab oil to be loaded into a tanker, hauled to PRC, refined and delivered. So, with that in mind, this has to be resolved by end-April, or the PRC runs out of oil. bsky.app/profile/sky....

🇮🇷🛜❌ According to NetBlocks, it has been almost 200 hours since the complete internet shutdown in Iran.

Counterpoint: Limiting how US troops can be used illegally in unconstitutional wars of the president’s own choosing *IS* supporting “the troops.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played to President Trump’s instincts to win his support for a campaign to transform the Middle East.

🇺🇦 Zelensky: The protracted war in the Middle East will certainly affect support for Ukraine, in particular on the issue of air defense. 💬 If a stable peace or ceasefire is not achieved in the first days of the conflict, there is a great risk of its continuation. Less attention means less support.

❗️🇨🇭Switzerland is reducing its order for F-35 fighter jets from 36 to 30 units following a contractual dispute with the 🇺🇸United States over the increase in the "fixed price".

White House: The U.S. Navy will escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the continued flow of energy resources.

As pointed out yesterday, #Iran is currently loading 2 million barrels of crude oil south of the Strait of Hormuz (SoSoH) at the Jask Oil & Gas Terminal in Kooh Mobarak. Mind you, this is only their 5th loading there in as many years. Journalists, kindly cite us as TankerTrackers.com kthxbye, /TT

You can fiercely oppose Trump and Netanyahu’s war on Iran without becoming a cheerleader for the Iranian regime

❗️Zelenskyy: Ukraine expects to receive items that are scarce for us in exchange for assistance in the Middle East As the head of state reported, following meetings with representatives of Middle Eastern countries, it will become clearer what Ukraine

🇺🇸💡🇮🇷 U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Iran: There are no plans to target Iran’s oil industry, their national gas industry, or anything about their energy industry. If these are Israeli strikes, these are local fuel depots. U.S. is targeting zero energy infrastructure.

Pretty serious allegation here. "Witnesses told the BBC that the Israeli soldiers had arrived disguised in Lebanese military fatigues and used ambulances with signs of Hezbollah's Islamic Health Organization." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Tehran 😳🇮🇷🔥

Leaking petroleum from the recently struck Shahran oil depot exploded in the storm drains along Tehran’s Shahran Boulevard.

Aftermath of the yesterday’s ATACMS and SCALP/Storm Shadow strike on the Russian Shahed storage and launch site at the Donetsk International Airport

What this further confirms is that the Trump administration knows Russia is helping Iranians try to kill Americans, but is doing nothing to stop it. How about sanctions or more arms sales to Ukraine?

❗️The first Ukrainian military personnel and experts will head to the Middle East tomorrow to train Persian Gulf countries on how to shoot down drones, – Zelenskyy.

🇺🇦🔥𝗔𝗙𝗨 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗻𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗣𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗯 𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗿, 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗻𝗼𝗱𝗮𝗿 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝗶 Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the Armavir Line Production and Dispatch Station (LVDS) in Kuban, Krasnodar Krai overnight 8 March 2026. 1/4

Biden's Secretary of State Blinken on Iran: Back during the Obama administration, the Israelis were pushing Obama to take military action against Iran and were warning that they would do it themselves if he didn’t.

Friday marked a turning point. Brent rose 9% (CO1), but - instead of a broad sell-off across EM - South Africa (ZAR), Brazil (BRL) and Chile (CLP) rallied. Markets are transitioning to rewarding commodity exporters like in 2022 after the Ukraine invasion... robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/markets-in...

Tehran residents warned of acid rain after oil storage attack ft.trib.al/1vHcns1

March 8, 2026 - Tehran at sunrise today. But the sun is hidden behind a sky filled with smoke. After a night of intensive strikes on oil facilities, thick black clouds now hang over the city, turning morning into something that feels like night.

❗️The United States discussed the possibility of seizing Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, which serves as a key terminal through which approximately 90% of Iran's crude oil exports pass, Axios reports.

🇺🇸🇮🇷 Iran war’s first week cost the U.S. about $6 billion, including roughly $4 billion spent on munitions and missile interceptors, - NYT

UPD: Supernova+ says the Geran-2 drone warehouse in occupied Donetsk was hit again.