"Donald Trump and his minions are having a meltdown. On Saturday, Trump lashed out at the New York Times for an article saying the obvious — that many of his original war goals, whatever they may have been, remain unaccomplished."

~ Paul Krugman

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/2

paulkrugman.substack.com/p/whe…

When Hyperglobalization Meets Chaos

Choke points are everywhere you look

^{Paul Krugman}

"Just an hour later, he posted a threat to commit massive war crimes, saying that if Iran doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours — that is, today — he will order U.S. forces to begin bombing civilian power plants."

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/3

"Why the desperation? The answer is obvious. It’s turning out not just that regime change — if that was really the goal — is hard to engineer, but also that the world is a lot more dependent on the Strait of Hormuz than Trump and co. seem to have realized."

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/4

"The belief that Israel and the US could help instigate widespread revolt was a foundational flaw in the preparations for a war that has spread across the Middle East."

Mark Mazzetti, Julian E. Barnes, Edward Wong and Ronen Bergman

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #Israel #RegimeChange
/5

nytimes.com/2026/03/22/us/poli…

"Instead of imploding from within, Iran’s govt has dug in and escalated the conflict, striking blows and counterblows against military bases, cities, ships in the Persian Gulf, and against vulnerable oil and gas installations.”

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #Israel #RegimeChange
/6

"After more than two weeks of consistent bombing, new US intelligence suggests Iran’s regime is now consolidating power, unlikely to collapse, and led by a cadre more extreme than before."

~ Jon Hoffman

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #Israel #RegimeChange
/7

cato.org/blog/strategic-failur…

"The president is under enormous pressure, as his war with Iran sparked Iranian officials to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil flows. This outcome was expected by previous presidents, but Trump seemed to think he could avoid it and now is stuck without an easy solution."

~ Heather Cox Richardson

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/8

heathercoxrichardson.substack.…

March 22, 2026

President Donald J.

^{Heather Cox Richardson (Letters from an American)}

"As former defense secretary and Central Intelligence Agency director Leon Panetta told David Smith of The Guardian, '[I]f there was an escape here for Trump, it would be to declare victory and it’s over and we’ve been able to be successful in all of our military targets. The problem is he can declare victory all he wants but, if he doesn’t get the ceasefire, he’s got nothing.'"

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/9

"'And he’s not going to get a ceasefire as long as Iran is holding the gun of the strait of Hormuz against his head.'

'He tends to be naive about how things can happen,' Panetta told Smith. 'If he says it and keeps saying it, there’s always a hope that what he says will come true. But that’s what kids do. It’s not what presidents do.'”

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/10

"As unpopular as Donald Trump’s ill-conceived, incompetently managed war was when it began, it is now more unpopular with a key segment of voters. 'Trump’s net approval of -20 for handling the situation in Iran represents a drop from last week’s poll. Then, 39% of Americans approved of how Trump was handling Iran and 52% disapproved — a net approval of -13,' The Economist/YouGov reported last week."

~ Jennifer Rubin

#Trump #Iran #war #oil #gas #ApprovalRating
/11

contrariannews.org/p/trumps-di…

Trump’s Disastrous War Comes Home to Roost

Three big risks threaten that things will only get worse

^{Jennifer Rubin (The Contrarian)}

"Several factors increase the likelihood that Trump’s support will crater.

First and foremost, a decomposing president, plainly out of his depth, is on display as the public increasingly grasps that this debacle was predictable and entirely avoidable. ...

Second, even if Trump wants to, it will become obvious that he has lost control of the timeline and the ballooning cost of the war."

#Trump #Iran #war #oil #gas #ApprovalRating
/12

"Third, unlike the Iraq War (when George W. Bush urged Americans to go to the mall to shop) or Trump’s first attack on Iran, virtually every American already has felt — or will soon feel — the war’s impact. The price of oil won’t come down anytime soon."

#Trump #Iran #war #oil #gas #ApprovalRating
/13

"Donald Trump is backing down from striking Iranian power plants, giving a five-day extension due to what he describes as productive talks with Iran. The problem is that Iran denies having any conversations with the White House or even through intermediaries."

~ Aaron Parnas

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/14

aaronparnas.substack.com/p/new…

NEWS: Trump Backs Down on Bombing Power Plants Due to Productive Talks, Iran Says Trump is Lying, Devastating Crash at Airport, ICE Deployed to 13 Airports

Good morning everyone.

^{Aaron Parnas (The Parnas Perspective)}

"Meanwhile, markets are reacting, with stocks rising and oil prices falling, and some critics argue this may be an attempt to influence markets while buying time for military positioning in the Middle East."

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas
/15

"At least 2,200 troops of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit have departed from Camp Pendleton aboard the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship."

~ Marcie Jones

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #KhargIsland #oil #gas #Marines #troops
/16

wonkette.com/p/mullah-said-the…

Mullah Said There'd Be Days Like This. Tabs: Mon. March 23, 2026

News and things to read and watch! Iran, Trump, Jeffrey Epstein

^{Marcie Jones (Wonkette)}

"In multiple scenarios, if Donald Trump were to invade and try to occupy Kharg Island for an extended period of time, American casualties would very likely be 'considerable,' one of the people familiar with the matter says."

~ Asawin Suebsaeng and Andrew Perez

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #KhargIsland #oil #gas #Marines #troops
/17

zeteo.com/p/the-kharg-island-b…

First Draft: 🇮🇷 The Kharg Island Bloodbath?

If Trump carries out his decades-long violent fantasy, his team expects ‘considerable’ US casualties. Plus, the clock is ticking on the US president's threat to commit war crimes in Iran.

^{Asawin Suebsaeng (Zeteo)}

"Some estimates, the first two sources tell us, are easily in the dozens for an initial phase of occupation, with numbers likely to rise sharply if President Trump wished to hold the island for an extended duration.

Some of the internal Kharg analysis has been shared directly with Trump in recent weeks, sources stress."

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #KhargIsland #oil #gas #Marines #troops
/18

The Washington Post is taking things seriously tonight. Here is their headline:

“Trump threats, U.S. troop build-up raise specter of battle for Hormuz.”

It’s not boots on the ground. It’s blood on the ground. At the whim of one man, the blood of thousands has already been spilled. No matter who it belongs to, all blood is precious."

~ Lucian K. Truscott

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #KhargIsland #oil #gas #Marines #troops
/19

luciantruscott.substack.com/p/…

What “boots on the ground” really means

It’s not boots.

^{Lucian K. Truscott IV (Lucian Truscott Newsletter)}

"Anyone who speaks casually about the death and destruction and madness of war is a despicable monster."

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #KhargIsland #oil #gas #Marines #troops
/20

"All the madman posturing in the world can’t change this simple fact: Iran knows how badly Trump needs to get the oil-price situation under control. Again and again, Trump has signaled he will let other foreign-policy objectives fall by the wayside to address this major domestic concern."

~ Andrew Egger

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz
/21

thebulwark.com/p/better-to-tac…

Better to TACO Than Not to TACO

Trump chickened out again . . . for now.

^{William Kristol (The Bulwark)}

"People are still trying to pretend there's some sophisticated plan here."

~ Ron Filipkowski quoting Gregg Carlstrom

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz
/22

meidasplus.com/p/this-weekend-…

This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 333

… Trump made another disgusting post celebrating the death of former FBI Director Robert Mueller: “Robert Mueller just died.

^{Ron Filipkowski (Meidas+)}

"The father of a dead U.S. serviceman has denied claims by Pete Hegseth that he told the Defense Secretary to 'not stop until the job is done' – referring to the war in Iran.

'No, I didn’t say anything along those lines,' Charles Simmons told NBC News in an interview Thursday, recalling his encounter with Hegseth at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware."

~ Mike Bedigan

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #lies #disinformation #propaganda
/23

independent.co.uk/news/world/a…

Father of dead serviceman says he never told Hegseth to ‘finish the job’ in Iran: report

‘No, I didn’t say anything along those lines,’ Charles Simmons told NBC News in an interview Thursday

^{Mike Bedigan (The Independent)}

"Simmons is the father of 28-year-old Master Sergeant Tyler Simmons, who was among the six crew members killed last week when their refueling plane crashed in Iraq."

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #lies #disinformation #propaganda
/24

"The Iran conflict has been sold to the public as a story with a clear objective, to stop their nuclear program, punish its proxies, restore deterrence, and then, by magic, stability reigns. But when you dig deeper, you don’t find a coherent plan; you find a chaotic conflict with no endgame. There is no path toward resolution, but rather an endless catastrophe."

~ Mark Mansour

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #lies #disinformation #propaganda
/25

mmansour.substack.com/p/what-a…

What Are The Endgames For The Iran “War”?

all are fraught with grave problems

^{Mark Mansour (America’s Fractured Politics)}

"He’s about to wind down and exit because he doesn’t give a damn about anything except maintaining his wealth and power — and the war is now costing him both.

It’s hurting his financial backers in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar — whose wealth has been seriously diminished by the war and whose vulnerability has been exposed."

~ Robert Reich

#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #economy #oil #gas #ApprovalRating
/26

robertreich.substack.com/p/tru…

Why He’ll Surrender Soon

But he’ll call it a great victory

^{Robert Reich}