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Saudi Arabia’s Oil Lifeline Just Went Down. The World May Be Out Of Time

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Saudi Arabia could run out of oil available for export within days after an attack shut down a critical pipeline used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

The kingdom has enough crude stored at the Red Sea port of Yanbu to maintain current export levels for roughly five to seven days without new supplies flowing through its East-West Pipeline, Reuters reported Sunday citing Saudi oil buyers and traders. If the pipeline remains offline, the world risks losing as much as 4% of its oil supply.

“This is a big outage for the Kingdom, and the damage to its East-West Pipeline appears much more severe than the relatively minor hit it took in April. Saudi storage farms in Egypt can fill in for the pipeline’s lost flows for perhaps a week, but a lingering shutdown beyond that would short global supply by about 4 million barrels per day,” energy public policy analyst David Blackmon told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Crude prices jumped 3% in overnight trading on the news, and U.S. gasoline prices will follow in the coming days. This incident, combined with lingering problems at the straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, is likely to force gas prices at the pump even higher until they are favorably resolved,” Blackmon added.

The nearly 750-mile East-West Pipeline — owned by state-controlled oil company Saudi Aramco — was moving roughly four million barrels of crude per day toward Yanbu before an attack forced it offline, according to Reuters. Industry estimates for restoring the pipeline vary, with some sources telling the outlet repairs could take five to six weeks while others expect partial operations to resume sooner. (Read more from “Saudi Arabia’s Oil Lifeline Just Went Down. The World May Be Out Of Time” HERE)

US Airman Rescued from Iran Shares Unbelievable Tale of Survival with ‘60 Minutes’: ‘Most Terrifying Thing I’ve Ever Seen’

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The US Air Force colonel rescued from Iran in April revealed Sunday that the “most terrifying moment” of surviving nearly two days on enemy lines was plummeting to earth with a damaged parachute after his F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down.

The weapons systems officer — identified only by the mission call sign Dude 44 Bravo — spoke publicly about his unbelievable tale of survival for the first time in an interview with CBS “60 Minutes” host Norah O’Donnell for the show’s 59th season premiere Sunday evening.

Bravo’s plane was shot down by an Iranian with a shoulder-fired missile on April 3, and crashed in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in the southwestern part of Iran near Iraq.

The impact of the missile was like “getting hit by a freight train,” Bravo said.

His crewmate and pilot, callsign Alpha, ejected them both from the $30 million jet, but Bravo’s parachute failed to inflate, he said.

“My parachute was damaged in the initial attack. At one point, when I looked up and saw no parachute, that was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen,” the heroic officer told O’Donnell. (Read more from “US Airman Rescued from Iran Shares Unbelievable Tale of Survival with ‘60 Minutes’: ‘Most Terrifying Thing I’ve Ever Seen’” HERE)

‘All Signs’ Pointing to ‘Major Escalation’ on World Stage just Ahead of Midterms: Expert

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Foreign policy expert Trita Parsi issued a dire warning Sunday that “all signs” were pointing to a “major escalation” in the U.S. war against Iran, one that “may very well” occur next month.

“All signs point to a major escalation between the US, Iran and Israel. And it may very well be initiated by Tehran itself a week or two before the midterm elections,” Parsi wrote Sunday in a statement published on social media. “Iran’s pattern of behavior suggests preparation for that war, including how they are clearing the path for even more effective strikes against Israel.”

The U.S. war against Iran has seen few direct exchanges of fire since July, a trend that was broken last week after Iran responded to a wave of U.S. strikes by attacking U.S. allies Jordan and Bahrain. On Saturday, the United States struck three Iranian oil tankers, an attack that Iran’s parliament speaker vowed Sunday to answer with a “more intense and more painful response,” CBS News reported.

And yet, Iran’s response to U.S. attacks, as previously noted by Parsi, has been comparatively reserved, suggesting Tehran may be waiting for a more “optimal moment to strike back.” That moment, Parsi previously theorized, could be “two or three weeks before the congressional elections, maximizing the political damage to Trump.”

Should a “major escalation” in war occur, Parsi also warned that it was likely Israel would play a larger direct role in the conflict.

(Read more from “‘All Signs’ Pointing to ‘Major Escalation’ on World Stage just Ahead of Midterms: Expert” HERE)

Iran War Causing ‘Shortfalls’ in Navy Payroll Six Months Into Conflict: Report

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The United States’ war with Iran has caused “shortfalls in payroll” in the Navy, according to a report.

The Navy has transferred money from its payroll and other sources to cover the cost of the ongoing contract, The Guardian reported Friday, citing documents and interviews with sources. It comes as the war, which began on Feb. 28, reached its six-month mark and shows no signs of de-escalating.

“The Department of the Navy is actively managing its resources to meet current pay obligations on time,” a Navy spokesperson told The Guardian. “We continue to work closely with Congress to address ongoing operational demands and sustain our personnel and readiness throughout the fiscal year.”

The publication said that one Department of Defense (DOD) memo alluded to “shortfalls in payroll” in Navy funding because the department had been “raiding” them to fund the war.

It added that one official and one navy contractor, both unnamed, said officials had deferred non-emergency maintenance and shore-based facilities because of financial concerns. (Read more from “Iran War Causing ‘Shortfalls’ in Navy Payroll Six Months Into Conflict: Report” HERE)

Iran-Oman Deal on Strait of Hormuz ‘Doesn’t Matter’ as Trump Controls Blockade, US Official Says

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A purported deal between Iran and Oman to control the Strait of Hormuz and share revenue from fees is “not even close to done” and would be meaningless so long as President Trump’s blockade of Iran remains in effect, a US official told The Post.

A spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed Wednesday that the two nations had agreed to terms to control the shipping bottleneck — but The Post’s source said that ill-defined terms are still believed to lack full approval from Iran’s leadership.

“The deals don’t mean anything unless we approve it. It doesn’t matter what the two of them — Iran and Oman — do. There is no deal without Trump pulling the blockade,” the official said.

A deal is “not even close to done [and] we know for a fact that this is still subject to approval within Iran,” he added.

“The last time we heard something was subject to approval… we all know what happened to it. It died.” (Read more from “Iran-Oman Deal on Strait of Hormuz ‘Doesn’t Matter’ as Trump Controls Blockade, US Official Says” HERE)

Iran Faces Massive New Triple-Threat as Hormuz Begins to Open, Cash Gets Tight and Pols Call to End the War

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Iran’s supreme leader is under mounting pressure over the war — as the regime’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz weakens, cash finally starts to get tight and top political leaders publicly urge the Islamists in charge to find a way out of the conflict.

The latest phase of the conflict has seen more and more ships quietly slipping through Hormuz, with nearly 200 vessel sailing through the strait last week, according to data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center.

The flow represents a 400% spike in the last two weeks, with maritime analysts Kpler noting that the traffic finding safe passage — aided by US Navy escorts — effectively means Iran has lost partial control of the strait.

And while more ships and oil are getting out, Iran’s own oil exports have dropped to near zero, under the renewed American blockade on its ports and President Trump’s “economic D-Day” measures.

There has been little to no activity seen at Iran’s Kharg Island oil hub, according to recent satellite images, leaving Iran with few options to offset its already ailing economy hit by historically high inflation and unemployment. (Read more from “Iran Faces Massive New Triple-Threat as Hormuz Begins to Open, Cash Gets Tight and Pols Call to End the War” HERE)

Iran Vows ‘Devastating’ Response as US Threatens Crushing Sanctions Designed to ‘Collapse’ Regime

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Iran threatened “devastating” consequences if the US moves ahead with imposing crippling sanctions against the regime — after the Trump administration pledged to hit the Islamic Republic with the toughest financial penalties in history.

“With preparedness across land, sea, air, air defense and cyberspace, Iran’s armed forces will respond to the enemy’s new threats with crushing, punishing and devastating responses,” Major General Ali Abdollahi, chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, said on Iranian media.

The US and Iran cobbled together two cease-fire deals, one in April and the other in June, with the goal of restoring the normal flow of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and ending the nearly six-month-old war — but both were short-lived.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC Friday that the US would “collapse the regime,” likening the naval blockade reimposed on Iran in July and the impending “toughest sanctions in history” as a “one-two punch.”

President Trump warned any country providing “any type of lifeline to Iran” would face economic consequences, and Bessent said he would “talk about exactly what we’re going to do” at a press conference on Monday. (Read more from “Iran Vows ‘Devastating’ Response as US Threatens Crushing Sanctions Designed to ‘Collapse’ Regime” HERE)

Marjorie Taylor Greene Claims White House Is “Discussing” Nuclear Weapons Use On Iran

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Marjorie Taylor Greene has made fresh claims alleging that the White House is discussing the possible use of nuclear weapons against Iran as part of strategy meetings.

In a post on X, the former Congresswoman wrote that “They are discussing using nuclear weapons on Iran in strategy meetings,” adding that she was not speculating and characterizing the alleged plan as “pure evil.”

Greene further said that U.S. intelligence indicated Iran was “no where near creating a nuclear weapon,” and she also referenced what she described as a repeated Israeli assessment that Iran was only weeks away from producing a nuclear weapon. She argued that after bombing, Iran gained greater leverage in the region, including through what she described as its role related to the Strait of Hormuz.

The remarks also tie into Greene’s criticisms of Donald Trump’s approach to Iran. She highlighted Trump’s statements claiming Iran had been “very badly defeated,” and she pointed to his comments on Truth Social describing the U.S. as capable of controlling whether anything reaches Iran unless a deal—or what he called “Total Surrender”—is achieved.

Greene said Trump has repeatedly maintained that Iran must surrender its enriched uranium stockpiles, which she described in the context of his language about nuclear threats. In her post, she argued that despite Trump’s assurances about avoiding further foreign wars, his administration could be linked to decisions she called a potential “nuclear holocaust,” which she said would likely increase the risk of wider conflict and major humanitarian and economic harm.

Iran Denies Report of ‘Backchannel’ Negotiations with U.S.

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Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Monday dismissed “fabricated” reports in American media of secret “backchannel” negotiations between the U.S. government and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The report on backchannel communications, published by Axios on Sunday, said that former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard set up the line of communications in May, using the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, as a go-between.

According to the report, Barzani used his ties with the IRGC to get in touch with its leader, Gen. Ahmad Vahidi. Vahidi said he supported the work of Iran’s negotiators, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Barzani relayed the message back to Gabbard, providing important information at a time when many observers thought the IRGC was working to sabotage negotiations. It was also unclear at the time whether Aragchi, or any other representative of Iran’s secular government, had any real power to make an agreement with the United States.

The report said the Trump administration wanted to open this channel of communication wider, developing Barzani into an intermediary, and possibly even arranging direct talks between American and Iranian representatives in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. The Iranians allegedly balked at this proposal, in part because they feared Israel might try to assassinate any representatives they sent to Erbil. (Read more from “Iran Denies Report of ‘Backchannel’ Negotiations with U.S.” HERE)

Trump instructs Pentagon to Reduce Military Exercises with South Korea

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President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had instructed the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea in a social media post that also mentions Seoul’s refusal to take part in actions against Iran.

Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site that, although it was too late to cancel the exercises entirely, he was “not happy” that the United States had previously agreed to participate.

The president also cited his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“These exercises are not only costly… but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful,” he wrote.

Trump also pointed to South Korea’s stance on the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump has instructed the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, he said on Sunday in a social media post that also mentioned Seoul’s refusal to take part in actions against Iran. (Read more from “Trump instructs Pentagon to Reduce Military Exercises with South Korea” HERE)