Podcaster Joe Rogan criticized the upcoming UFC fight at the White House, saying it’s going to be “weird to have a fight at the White House in the middle of a fucking war.” Mediaite reports.
Said Rogan: “I would hope the war will be sorted out by June, but quite honestly, I’m not confident that’s going to be the case. So that’ll be weird.”
“The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S. military strikes while planning the ongoing operation,” CNN reports.
“President Donald Trump’s national security team failed to fully account for the potential consequences of what some officials have described as a worst-case scenario now facing the administration.”
“Trump’s preference of leaning on a tight circle of close advisers in his national security decision making had the effect of sidelining interagency debate over the potential economic fallout if Iran were to respond to U.S.-Israeli strikes by closing the strait.”
“Russia is earning as much as $150 million a day in extra budget revenues from its oil sales, making it the biggest winner from the conflict in the Middle East,” the Financial Times reports.
“Nearly two weeks after the United States and Israel attacked Iran with an extraordinary display of firepower, Iran has found a way to inflict pain back on its enemies by strangling one of the world’s most vital waterways,” the New York Times reports.
“By threatening shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, attacking tankers in an Iraqi port and beginning to lay mines in the strait, Iran has sent oil prices surging and slowed global trade. It has also made clear that it is intent on using what advantages it has to sap the will of the United States to sustain the war.”
“Iran said the world should be ready for oil at $200 a barrel as its forces hit merchant ships and the International Energy Agency recommended a massive release of strategic reserves to dampen one of the worst oil shocks since the 1970s,” Reuters reports.
“The Trump administration has burned through ‘years’ of critical munitions since the start of the war with Iran, fueling concerns about the rising cost of the conflict and the US’s ability to replenish its stockpiles,” the Financial Times reports.
“The rapid depletion of weaponry included advanced long-range Tomahawk missiles.”
“Israeli officials now assess that Iran’s ruling regime is unlikely to fall in the immediate future, as Tehran’s battered rulers remain in control and conditions on the ground aren’t yet ripe for a popular uprising,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Nearly two weeks into the war, Iran’s military and political leadership appears functional and responsive to events, while its domestic opponents have been cowed by a heavy security presence. Israeli officials assess that changing the equation would likely require many more weeks or months of fighting.”
New York Times: “The strategy appears to have allowed the administration to do an end run around the legislative process and enact policies that will affect states and, in some cases, the whole country.”
“In some cases, like in Texas, the legal maneuver has allowed states to quietly break free from their own laws, outside the normal legislative process. In others, it has helped the Trump administration lock in changes at the federal level that could persist for years after Mr. Trump leaves office.”
“Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf channel that carries 20 percent of the world’s oil, a move that could exacerbate the disruptions to global shipping and further rattle the global economy,” the New York Times reports.
“While the U.S. military said it had destroyed larger Iranian naval vessels, Iran began using smaller boats to lay mines on Thursday.”
A U.S. Air Force refueler crashed in Iraq on Thursday following an apparent accident involving the KC-135 tanker and another aircraft, the Washington Post reports.
I spoke to the great Julie Mason about how the Iran war is impacting our domestic politics.
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Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Sky News that the U.S. Navy will be escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz “as soon as it is militarily possible.”
He added that it may be “with an international coalition, will be escorting vessels through.”
“Michael Bloomberg, New York City’s billionaire former mayor, is preparing to spend millions of dollars on a super PAC boosting one of his former aides in the race for a coveted Manhattan House seat,” the New York Times reports.
“The intervention is designed to help the former aide, Assemblyman Micah Lasher, distinguish himself from a crowded and star-studded field of Democrats competing to succeed Representative Jerrold Nadler, who is retiring.”
Wall Street Journal: “This U.S.-centric idea ran counter to the market realities… Maritime war risks policies are sold mostly out of Lloyd’s of London, with foreign insurers covering foreign ships and cargo.”
“U.S. officials called London insurers and brokers, trying to figure out how the market operates, industry insiders said. Some have received calls asking for confidential data on the Lloyd’s market that participants have been reluctant to share.”
“President Donald Trump and Iran’s new supreme leader both struck defiant tones on the 13th day of the war, offering little relief to energy markets as Brent crude briefly topped $100 barrel despite fresh US efforts to curb oil prices,” Bloomberg reports.
Bloomberg Economics estimates that oil will hit $140 a barrel if the Straights of Hormuz remains closed until April.
Aaron Blake: “The war with Iran is now about two weeks old. And we’re getting a lot of polling data on how Americans feel about the most significant new US military conflict in two decades.”
“It’s still a confusing picture, though — and one that could break either for or against the Trump administration.”
“But at least for now, pessimism and uncertainty about the benefits of this war still seem to be the prevailing takeaway. Perhaps most strikingly, Americans seem to think this war makes us less safe.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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