"The same day, the White House made the position official from a different angle. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not a 'core objective' of Operation Epic Fury. …

Outside the United States, the Hormuz reversal is being read as a significant retreat from the war’s stated rationale."

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

"The war was sold to the world — and to America’s Gulf allies — partly as a mission to restore freedom of navigation through the most critical oil chokepoint on the planet. …

The war was partly justified by the need to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. The president has now privately told aides he may declare victory without reopening it. US gas is $4.018 a gallon. Oil is above $112 a barrel. The Strait has been 95% closed for 32 days."

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

"Trump’s own deadline for obliterating Iran’s infrastructure if Hormuz isn’t open is April 6. The White House says Hormuz is not a core objective. These statements cannot all be true simultaneously. The rest of the world noticed."

And, of course, we shouldn't overlook that he has moved US troops into the area, that he's volatile and lacking a moral center — and capable of any irrational action imaginable.

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

"Donald Trump’s net approval rating has dropped to -17, the lowest for any President in American history at this point in their presidency:"

~ Aaron Parnas

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #ApprovallRating
/5

aaronparnas.substack.com/p/new…

NEWS: Trump Lashes Out as Gas Prices Soar, Approvals Fall to Lowest in History, France Rejects US Access to Airspace, Trump Looks for Way out of Iran

Good morning everyone.

^{Aaron Parnas (The Parnas Perspective)}

"The oil crisis is about to get physical. The map at the top of this post shows J.P. Morgan’s estimates of when tankers from the Gulf will stop arriving at various destinations. Deliveries to Asian markets will end this week; deliveries to Europe will end next week.

And once the crisis gets physical, there will no longer be room for jawboning the markets."

~ Paul Krugman

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #ApprovallRating #markets #StockMarket
/6

paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the…

The Oil Crisis is About to Get Physical

From market speculation to crude reality

^{Paul Krugman}

"This isn’t a game, and you’re not a magician. This is real blood and guts. Real pain. Real deaths and injuries. Real price increases at the gas pump. Real hardships for real people — in America, in the Middle East, and elsewhere.

You can’t pretend, sir. This isn’t reality television. This is for real. And the reality is Americans are worse off now and less secure than we were when you started this."

~ Robert Reich

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

robertreich.substack.com/p/tru…

Trump's Magical Thinking

He says he's winning in Iran. He's losing bigly.

^{Robert Reich}

"To be candid, that is the stupidest, most irresponsible excuse for a plan that any president has ever articulated: Negotiate until you have essentially achieved a deal, then kill the people with whom you were negotiating, bomb 10,000 targets, withdraw from the war with no clear victory, suggest diplomacy to reverse Iran’s wartime gains, and then tell our European allies to clean up our mess."

~ Robert B. Hubbell

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

roberthubbell.substack.com/p/m…

More good news on No Kings Day 3.0!

March 31, 2026

^{Robert B. Hubbell (Today's Edition Newsletter)}

"Showing reporters on Air Force One a series of posterboard images of his new ballroom last night, Trump told them: 'I thought I’d do this now because it’s easier. I’m so busy that I don’t have time to do this. But, ah, I’m fighting wars and other things.'"

~ Heather Cox Richardson

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #death #destruction #ballroom
/9

heathercoxrichardson.substack.…

March 30, 2026

Showing reporters on Air Force One a series of posterboard images of his new ballroom last night, Trump told them: “I thought I’d do this now because it’s easier.

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

"'But this is very important ’cause this is going to be with us for a long time and it’s going to be, I think it’ll be the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world.'”

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #death #destruction #ballroom
/10

"Donald Trump is the…I hesitate to use this word…man who once said, 'We’re going to win so much that you’re going to be sick and tired. You’re going to say, "Please, please, Mr. President, we’re sick and tired of winning. Please let us have at least one loss."”

~ Lucian K. Truscott

#Trump #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #death #destruction #ballroom
/11

luciantruscott.substack.com/p/…

How to lose three wars at once

The short answer to that question is, be Donald Trump.

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

"You evaluate a war not by how much each side blows up but by who emerges stronger, either in relative or absolute terms, when the war ends. Who achieved what? If Iran emerges from this conflict with some kind of effective control of the Strait of Hormuz, that will be a tremendous strategic victory."

~ Josh Marshall

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

talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/l…

Lacking Any Strategy, Trump Prepares to Escalate

The U.S. is approaching a newly dangerous phase of its war against Iran. The administration is signaling that it will likely soon commence ground operations in…

^{Josh Marshall (TPM - Talking Points Memo)}