"While most combat operations have been undertaken by the US military, at considerable risk to US service members and costs borne by American taxpayers, the war was born, planned, and insisted upon by Israel, and its long-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."

#Trump #Netanyahu #Iran #Israel #war
/20

"One prominent rationale for the Israeli-American attack on Iran is to bomb the country into friendliness to the US and Israel. ...

The real goals of Trump’s war cannot be found in his strategic vision, which is overshadowed, if it even exists, by a pinwheeling embrace of postures that serve his vanity and his short-term political interests."

~ Eli Clifton and Ian S. Lustick

#Trump #Netanyahu #Iran #Israel #war
/19

thenation.com/article/world/tr…

How the Israeli Tail Wags the American Dog | The Nation

The US attack on Iran may be less about American security than about the priorities of Israel’s government.

^{Ricky D'Ambrose (The Nation)}

"The President of the United States has engaged our country in a war for no discernible reason except distraction – and apparently because being at war can be cool and fun. Just like video games. ...

It’s all a game. It’s all a game. It’s all a game.

Until Game Over."

~ Keith Owens

#Trump #Iran #war #games
/18

wearespeaking.net/p/war-games-are-not-a-game

"The alliance between the United States and Israel endures because three forces reinforce one another: strategic necessity, political affinity, and domestic power. ...

Both the United States and Israel are profoundly unfree and racially riven societies."

#Trump #Netanyahu #Iran #Israel #war
/17

"Why has this relationship endured with such extraordinary durability for so long?

To answer that question requires looking beyond the ceremonial language of democracy and shared values that usually defines the alliance. It requires examining the historical forces that made the partnership possible—and the political structures that continue to sustain it."

#Trump #Netanyahu #Iran #Israel #war
/16

"For generations the alliance between the United States and Israel has been treated in Washington as something close to unquestionable—an assumption embedded so deeply in American strategic thinking that it often appears less like a policy choice than a permanent feature of the geopolitical landscape.

Which raises a deeper question."

~ Elisabeth Glassco

#Trump #Netanyahu #Iran #Israel #war
/15

400years.substack.com/p/no-one…

“No One Wants to Fight for Israel”—So Why Does America Keep Doing It?

For generations one relationship has shaped American strategy in the Middle East—though the forces sustaining it are rarely discussed openly.

^{Dr. D. Elisabeth Glassco (400 Years)}

"Senior Iranian officials warned of a long 'war of attrition' and a global economic crisis stemming from Tehran’s choking off of the region’s energy supplies, and oil prices on Thursday again topped $100 a barrel before dipping to $98."

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

"Iran dramatically escalated its strategy of striking civilian infrastructure and transport networks across the Gulf on Wednesday, attacking commercial ships and targeting Dubai’s international airport as US and Israeli warplanes launched new waves of strikes."

~ Clea Skopeliti

#Trump #Iran #war #oil #gas #StraitofHormuz #Dubai #Israel
/13

theguardian.com/us-news/2026/m…

First Thing: Iran escalates attacks on infrastructure and transport networks across the Gulf

Oil prices again rise over $100 a barrel as Iran threatens long ‘war of attrition’. Plus, San Francisco slashes air pollution

^{Clea Skopeliti (The Guardian)}

"As we keep pointing out, if the US and the rest of the world had actually taken the threat of climate change seriously for the past three decades and sharply ramped up clean energy production, we’d all be less subject to sudden interruptions of oil supplies by now."

~ Marty Kelley

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

wonkette.com/p/maybe-trump-bom…

Maybe Trump Bombed Some Schools, But At Least Gas Prices Are Going Higher And Higher

It's a Dire situation in the Strait, and we're spending all this Money for Nothing.

^{Doktor Zoom (Wonkette)}

"Racing to respond to the utterly predictable impact of its Iran attack on global oil prices, President Trump made the impromptu policy announcement that the U.S. government would backstop insurers shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, but as the WSJ reports, the administration had little idea what it was proposing:"

~ David Kurtz

#Trump #Iran #war #oil #gas #StraitofHormuz #prices #economy #affordability
/10

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.…

Of Course It Did: Trump Tantrum Led to Reversal on Law Firm Appeals

INSIDE: Pam Bondi ... Karoline Leavitt ... Pete Hegseth

^{David Kurtz (Morning Memo)}

"He framed the surge as a positive development while insisting the war is necessary to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. For Americans paying more at the pump, that message is likely to land very differently. But good for Trump’s wealthy oil baron friends, I guess."

#Trump #Iran #war #oil #gas #StraitofHormuz #prices #economy #affordability
/9

"Instead of expressing concern about rising costs for Americans, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social celebrating the price spikes. In his message, Trump argued that higher oil prices are good because the United States is the largest oil producer in the world and therefore 'makes a lot of money' when prices rise."

~ Ben Meiselas

#Trump #Iran #war #oil #gas #StraitofHormuz #prices #economy #affordability
/8

meidasplus.com/p/thursday-afte…

Thursday Afternoon Updates: Trump Celebrates Higher Oil Prices as Iran War Spirals — 3/12/26

It’s Thursday afternoon, and as we head toward the end of the week, there is a lot happening around the world that you need to know about.

^{Ben Meiselas (Meidas+)}

"It’s not clear that Iran will stop shooting if they feel it’s necessary for them to keep the war going, for international reasons, for domestic reasons."

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

"He clearly thinks that is what will happen here—that he can just choose the moment where he wants to undo this and go back to the way it was. Leaving aside all the other reasons why that’s probably not possible—such as trust in the U.S., the Israelis might not be ready to stop—just assume all those problems are solvable. What you have now is the Strait of Hormuz has become militarized in a way that it wasn’t before."

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

"So basically this mess is like turning off the spigot that controls 20 percent of the world’s oil flow. ... This is one of those shocks that is going to be very hard to get back to any sort of status quo before the war. There’s also no end in sight. ...

Can we extricate ourselves? With the tariffs, he could say, '20 percent tariff today,' & then back off, leaving aside the illegality of doing that."

~ Elizabeth Saunders

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

newrepublic.com/article/207666…

Trump’s Iran Blunders Suddenly Look Darker After Damning New Leaks Hit

As brutal revelations emerge about Trump’s handling of the war, a foreign policy expert explains why he won’t be able to extricate us from this debacle anytime soon—and provides a roadmap to what’s next.

^{The New Republic}

"Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new 'forever war'—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad."

#Trump #Iran #war #media
/4

"Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets."

~ The Nation

#Trump #Iran #war #media
/3

thenation.com/article/world/a-…

A Briefing on the War in Iran | The Nation

^{Rose D'Amora (The Nation)}

"Time and again, national pundits and the White House press corps invent a logical Donald Trump who sets, announces, and later “changes” real 'policies' or 'plans,' failing to convey what is clear to anyone who is actually following events closely: In each public appearance and social media post, the Mad King Donald Trump spouts a string of words, devoid of meaning or purpose, that may or may not represent anything at all."

#Trump #Iran #war #media
/2

Commentary continues to pour out re: Trump's war against Iran. I'm starting a second thread of things I've read today about that topic that seem worth sharing.

"The hardest thing for the media to wrap its hands around over the last year is that Donald Trump has no plan — for anything, ever."

~ Garrett M. Graff

#Trump #Iran #war #media
/1

doomsdayscenario.co/p/trump-su…

Trump Surprised To Find He's At War in Iran

Once his not-even-half-baked plan failed to materialize in Iran, it’s clear that there’s no Plan B.

^{Garrett Graff (Doomsday Scenario)}

What we get upset about. Cartoon for Dutch newspaper Trouw: trouw.nl/cartoons/tjeerd-royaa…

#GasPrices #oil #OilPrices #Iran

"This is a billionaire’s war, waged at everyone else’s expense."

#Trump #Iran #war #economy #EconomicElites #oligarchy #oil #gas
/3

"If you want to understand how this country has degenerated to such a state, how we can be spending nearly $2 billion a day attacking Iran without a clear endgame in sight, while children go without healthcare, nursing homes are understaffed because their workers have been deported, home electricity bills skyrocket due to data centers, consider who benefits and who isn’t hurt."

#Trump #Iran #war #economy #EconomicElites #oligarchy #oil #gas
/2

"It becomes clearer with each passing day that the people who took us to war with Iran had and have no idea what they’re doing — that they’re adolescents who think they’re playing video games while thousands die and the world careens toward economic crisis. The New York Times reports that Trump officials dismissed warnings that attacking Iran could disrupt world oil supplies."

~ Paul Krugman

#Trump #Iran #war #economy #EconomicElites #oligarchy #oil #gas
/1

paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the…

The Billionaires’ War

The ultrawealthy put Trump in power but other people will pay the price

^{Paul Krugman}

If you want the details on the #Economics of "Operation Epic Mistake"

#Oil #USA #Economy #Finance #Inflation #News #Iran #Israel #War

oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gen…

The Strait Is Closed, the Story Keeps Changing,and You're Paying for It All

Twelve days into Operation Epic Fury, the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, oil has been a roller coaster, Iran's war aims are outlasting America's, and the inflation that follows is heading straight for your kitchen table.

^{Michael Kern (OilPrice.com)}

What is happening at 'RAF' Fairford is NOT defensive.

#Iran #MakeAmericaGrateAgain

aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2…

Al Jazeera sees bombs being loaded onto US planes at UK base

An Al Jazeera crew filmed bunker-busting bombs being loaded onto US military planes at a UK military base.

^{Al Jazeera}