Author: Jennylyn Gleave

Oil tanker shortage is driving freight rates sharply higher as vessels become trapped in longer voyages around Hormuz and the Cape of Good Hope. Houthi attacks and disruptions around Bab al-Mandab are forcing Saudi and other tanker operators to reroute, increasing costs and delivery times. Restrictions and attacks around the Strait of Hormuz are turning shipping capacity into a new constraint on global oil supplies, potentially keeping fuel prices elevated. The Iran war has created a new and expensive problem for the oil market: the shortage is no longer limited to crude. The ships needed to move that crude are…

Iran war Pentagon operational readiness is under growing pressure as the United States spends billions on the conflict and rapidly consumes missile-defense interceptors. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the war has already cost about $38 billion, with another $2 billion–$3 billion a month if fighting continues. Iran’s evolving missile tactics are forcing the Pentagon and CENTCOM to confront the long-term sustainability of U.S. air defenses and munitions production. WASHINGTON — The most consequential cost of the Iran war may not be the dollars already spent, but the pressure it is placing on the Pentagon’s ability to sustain a prolonged high-intensity…

Oil prices above $108 reflect mounting fears that multiple Middle Eastern energy routes are being disrupted simultaneously. Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline shutdown removes a crucial alternative route as Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb face growing security threats. Prolonged disruption could trigger another inflationary shock, higher interest rates and economic conditions potentially worse than the coronavirus-era energy crisis. The world may need to prepare for an economic shock potentially more damaging than the energy disruptions experienced during the coronavirus pandemic as crude oil prices surge beyond $108 a barrel and the Middle East’s alternative export routes begin to fail one after another.…

China’s satellite imagery Iran allegedly provided Tehran with high-resolution intelligence before the deadly July attack on U.S. troops in Jordan. China’s rapidly expanding satellite, navigation and remote-sensing capabilities are narrowing the strategic space-technology gap with the United States. Washington has heavily squeezed Iran economically but remains cautious about directly confronting Beijing, making the allegations potentially significant ahead of the Trump-Xi summit. The Iran war has opened a new and potentially explosive front in the U.S.-China rivalry: space. U.S. officials now say Iran obtained high-resolution satellite imagery from Chinese entities before and after the July 17 Iranian missile attack on Muwaffaq…

25th anniversary of 9/11 marks a quarter century since the attacks transformed America and the global security system. America’s war against terrorism has evolved from Afghanistan and al-Qaeda into a broader confrontation involving Iran, the Houthis, drones, missiles and proxy warfare. President Donald Trump has an opportunity to use American strength and diplomacy to move the world from perpetual conflict toward deterrence and stability. NEW YORK — Twenty-five years after the attacks that transformed America’s understanding of terrorism, New Yorkers are once again gathering at Ground Zero to remember the 2,977 people killed on Sept. 11, 2001 — a day…

Iran missile production is reportedly restarting underground despite extensive American and Israeli strikes on Tehran’s military-industrial infrastructure. Iran’s stockpiled warheads, airframes, guidance systems and other components could allow limited missile assembly even while damaged factories remain difficult to restore. The rebuilding effort could transform the war into a prolonged contest between Iranian weapons regeneration and U.S.-Gulf missile-defense capacity. Iran’s ballistic-missile program was supposed to be one of the clearest casualties of the war. After weeks of American and Israeli strikes destroyed missile sites, industrial facilities, launchers and storage areas, Washington and Jerusalem presented the degradation of Iran’s military-industrial capacity as…

Iran attacks US targets to make Washington’s blockade of Iranian oil exports increasingly costly and difficult to sustain. Tehran is exploiting the Strait of Hormuz to pressure U.S. military forces, regional allies and global energy markets. Trump’s ability to win the midterms has become strategically important to America’s credibility and influence in the Middle East. Iran’s decision to intensify attacks against U.S. military targets at sea and across the Middle East marks a dangerous new phase in the conflict. Tehran is no longer simply retaliating against American strikes or trying to protect its shrinking oil exports. It is testing whether…

Middle East Security: Qatar’s warning signals a growing Gulf desire for security self-sufficiency beyond exclusive reliance on the United States. Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia are institutionalising a defence partnership that combines military, technological, economic and strategic strengths. The Makkah Defence Pact could become the foundation of a broader regional security architecture linking the Gulf, Türkiye and South Asia. ABU DHABI/ISTANBUL — The Middle East is entering a new security era, and perhaps the clearest sign of the change came not from Washington, Riyadh or Ankara, but from Doha. Qatar, one of America’s closest military partners in the Gulf and…

AfD’s Historic Victory: The AfD’s breakthrough in Saxony-Anhalt could produce Germany’s first far-right state government since World War II, challenging the long-standing Brandmauer against the party. Migration, policing and education could change: An AfD-led state government would have meaningful authority over migration enforcement at the state level, policing, schools and cultural policy, potentially bringing the party’s controversial agenda from opposition rhetoric into government. The impact would extend beyond Saxony-Anhalt: Even without controlling Berlin, an AfD government would reshape Germany’s political debate, intensify pressure on Friedrich Merz and raise questions about Germany’s approach to Russia, Ukraine, immigration and the country’s post-war…

The US-Iran conflict is escalating at sea, with Washington targeting Iranian oil tankers and Tehran retaliating against American military assets around the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s economy is under mounting pressure as sanctions, disrupted oil exports, currency weakness and restricted access to foreign currency squeeze Tehran. The financial war has a surprising vulnerability: billions of dollars linked to Iranian networks have continued moving through international banks and U.S. correspondent accounts despite sanctions. The Iran war is far from over. The conflict is entering a dangerous phase in which missiles, oil tankers, financial sanctions and Hormuz are interconnected weapons. On Saturday,…