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We naturally think of a war between the US & Israel against Iran, and it is always presented in this light, but as it drags on the losses to the nations of the world pile up, and most of the losses will not accrue to these 3 nations. Of course we want to keep up with war news, but this is changing the structure of global real economy, and the finances will be forced to follow suit.
As this war progresses collateral damage mounts to countries dependent upon shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, gulf monarchies first, as that is how they get food and drinking water. When I was in high school in the 1970s, it was already well understood that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continued to exist without revolution because the monarchy paid the price in cash to keep Arabian citizens well fed and happy. that is still the case, and Saudi Arabia was going to borrow 20% of its government budget this year before war broke out. Now it needs to cash out investemts in US treasury bills and US stocks, as do all the other Gulf monarchies. This threatens the petro-dollar arrangement at its base, but these monarchies really have to worry about hungry, thirsty, angry people right away.
The US bombed an Iranian desalination plant on an island. The people on that island are badly impacted, but not the mainland, whereas Israel is highly dependent on 5 desalination plants, one of which Iran has now hit in retaliation. The Gulf monarchies and citizens can't survive without desalination plants.
The people who lived in Dubai 2 weeks ago were over 50% foreigners, wealthy or with very good jobs. A lot of them left. Others are waiting to leave. All of these Gulf kingdoms depend on high flows of money, goods and talent toexist, and those flows depend upon oil and gas flowing throug the Strait of Hormuz. They stop existing quickly without that stable flow. The oil and gas will still be there, but not the political, social and economic construct.
If the people go away, and oil profits are not needed to support them, then oil profits will go elsewhere, maybe to some big military power or something.
A lot of countries are existentially dependent upon oil and gas imports for theeir industrial base, such as Germany, the UK and other European countries. They have spurned Russian oil and gas, which was bad enough and ruining their industries before this. Now it can finish them off. Hungary and Slovakia have maintained relations with Russia, and are having their supplies choked by Ukraine, though Ukraine needs their electricity and diesel fuel.
China has been stockpiling oil and other necessities for decades, and maintains broad and good trade relationships, notably with Russia. China is somewhat threatened in the long term, but not the next 6 months. The US has now started attacking tankers carrying Iranian oil to China, to sever that supply.
Many smaller "global south" countries and Asian countries are highly dependent upon oil and gas imports, but have not burned their bridges with Russia. India is a special case, courted by the US, after a fashion, and now with special permission to buy cheap Russian oil again temporarily. India likes being non-aligned.
Global finance will soon be forced to restructure as debts cannot be serviced without oil revenues, and other industries will not be making things without oil and gas. Across the world, massive public and private debts are barely being serviced, often by taking out more loans. This will be forced to crash if this war persists in the same form through Seotemeber. Would you want to invest in German governemt bonds if Germany could not get oil and gas for industry?
The broad and intelligent speculation is that money will go from being backed by interest payments, to being backed by commodities like oil, gold, gas, silver, grains and soybeans. Investments will be written-off in a mass global bankruptcy, and a $US will be worth how much bread and gas it can buy you. Will it be "the reserve currency"? Will there be a reserve-currency? That is above my pay grade.
Through attacking Iran, and refusing to stop, Trump effectively attacks European real economy, European finance, and the UK/London in the same sense, while pressuring China, and harming some Chinese investments. All of the smaller contries which need to import for their industries will remain flexible and friendloy to survive.
The ongoing existence of the Zionist State of Israel is more acutely inquestion, as it has to advance in war to maintain internal political cohesion, but stands to lose desalination and electrical generation facilities, as well as military assets, such as air defense radars, which have mostly been destroyed alrady. The missiles are hitting Tel Aviv without sirens, or maybe 2 minutes of warning now. Lots of Israelis can go to other countries, since they have wealth and dual citizenship. At what point in a long process of functional degradation might Israeli leaders decide to unleash nuclear strikes? Would they stop with Iran?
President Trump has said that he will only accept "unconditional surrender" from Iran. Iran has insisted that it will end the war on its terms. Iranian cities are burning now. The empire is past the plan to change the regime through decapitation, and has moved to the phase of causing horrible death and suffering, Israeli style, with AI-targeting of girl's schools, Israeli style.
What is effectively happening as a direct cause of this war, as the world goes into a hard global economic decline, is that the collapse is being imposed upon some countries that totally depend upon imported oil and gas. Their debts will default, and they will not be able to rebuild in the global great depression, somewhat like Germany after the First World War, but this time it will be a lot more countries, including England and France.
President Trump is getting visions and loud prayers and hands of pastors laid upon him to transmit God's power into him to obtain victory...
Which "god", right? Not the God of Love.
Gold & Geopolitics, March, 8: His Will Be Done - when your spiritual adviser needs a spiritual adviser
“Strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike until you have victory! For every enemy that is aligned against you - we would strike the ground, for you will give us victory, God!” “The Lord says it is done. The Lord says it is done. The Lord says it is done, for I hear victory victory victory victory in the quarters of heaven!”
“Victory victory victory victory victory victory victory, for angels are being released right now! Angels are being dispatched right now!”
“Hamandah, Akka, Ataraka, Tedda, Bakka, Sanda, Ata, Ambo, Osa, Kata, Ritte, Eke, Banda, Ata, Ritte, Didi, Asha, Taa...”
“For angels have been dispatched from Africa right now! Africa right now! Africa right now! They’re coming here! They’re coming here! In the name of Jesus, from South America! They’re coming here! They’re coming here! They’re coming here!”
“Angelic reinforcement! Angelic reinforcement! Angelic reinforcement!”
“I hear the sound of victory. I hear the sound of victory. I hear the sound of victory. I hear the sound of victory. I hear the sound of victory. I hear the sound of victory. I hear the sound of victory. I hear the sound of victory. I hear the sound of victory.”...
..That’s Paula White. Totally normal behaviour. She’s Trump’s “senior adviser to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives”. Chanting over a war that has killed ~1,300 Iranians including 200 children...
..She wasn’t alone. A room full of pastors gathered around the President, laying hands on him, praying for heavenly blessing as he prosecuted an attack on a country with which he was negotiating the day before. On camera. I wrote on day four about military commanders telling their troops this is Armageddon. That Trump was anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire. These people aren’t speaking in metaphor. They mean it. https://no01.substack.com/p/march-8-his-will-be-done
Hundreds of complaints from US service members report that commanders told them the war on Iran is part of biblical prophecy for Armageddon https://thecradle.co/articles/dozens-of-us-lawmakers-demand-probe-into-pentagon-officials-saying-iran-war-gods-divine-plan
The petrodollar was a simple deal. The Gulf states price their oil in dollars, recycle the surplus into US Treasuries, and in exchange get American military protection. Clean, elegant, and - for fifty years - it actually worked. The US got permanent demand for its currency and its debt. The Gulf got security guarantees backed by the most powerful military on earth...
..The US Treasury market is in a bit of a pickle. I believe the technical term is “clusterfuck”.
About $9.2 trillion in US Treasuries rolled over in fiscal 2025 - roughly a third of all outstanding federal debt - and the 2026 refinancing wave is already building. Annual interest payments on the federal debt have crossed $1 trillion for the first time. The Treasury is buying back its own debt in tranches to keep the market from seizing up. But the 10-year yield keeps moving higher regardless.
The petrodollar recycling loop was one of the structural forces keeping Treasury auctions clearing. When Gulf sovereigns stop buying - or start selling - somebody else has to absorb that supply. At higher rates. Which makes the interest burden worse. Which makes the deficit worse. Which requires more issuance. The spiral is not complicated.
And underneath all of this sits a deeper shift that doesn’t get enough attention. The world is migrating from a currency-based monetary order to a collateral-based one. For decades, Treasuries were the global safe asset - the thing you held when you didn’t know what else to hold. That status is eroding. What’s replacing it, are commodities. Physical stuff™. Things you can actually use. Which is - not coincidentally - exactly what the GCC is sitting on, and exactly what the US has just demonstrated it cannot protect...
..The entire purpose of US power projection in the Middle East - the bases, the carrier groups, the security guarantees - was always to protect the dollar system. To keep the oil flowing in dollars, the recycling loop turning. Not out of the goodness of its heart. It allowed the US to run deficits indefinitely, export inflation to the rest of the world, and borrow at rates no other debtor could ever dream of.About $9.2 trillion in US Treasuries rolled over in fiscal 2025 - roughly a third of all outstanding federal debt - and the 2026 refinancing wave is already building. Annual interest payments on the federal debt have crossed $1 trillion for the first time. The Treasury is buying back its own debt in tranches to keep the market from seizing up. But the 10-year yield keeps moving higher regardless.
The petrodollar recycling loop was one of the structural forces keeping Treasury auctions clearing. When Gulf sovereigns stop buying - or start selling - somebody else has to absorb that supply. At higher rates. Which makes the interest burden worse. Which makes the deficit worse. Which requires more issuance. The spiral is not complicated.
And underneath all of this sits a deeper shift that doesn’t get enough attention. The world is migrating from a currency-based monetary order to a collateral-based one. For decades, Treasuries were the global safe asset - the thing you held when you didn’t know what else to hold. That status is eroding. What’s replacing it, are commodities. Physical stuff™. Things you can actually use. Which is - not coincidentally - exactly what the GCC is sitting on, and exactly what the US has just demonstrated it cannot protect...
Whether Washington chose this war or simply couldn’t say no when Israel saw its chance and leapt - that’s still an open question. What isn’t open is the result. The Gulf states are under attack because they host US bases. https://no01.substack.com/p/the-bretton-whoops
Craig Tindales excellent analysis has earned a lot of attention: Systemic Risk: A 12-Order Cascading Analysis Of A Zero-Flow Strait Of Hormuz Closure
The modern world order, having organized itself around efficiency, cost minimization, and logistical precision, has created a machinery of dependence so extreme that the interruption of one narrow corridor can propagate outward into a general crisis of civilization. What appears at first as a maritime blockade is in fact the exposure of the entire global system as a hierarchy of brittle interdependencies.
Oil and LNG fail as inputs into electricity, fertilizer, shipping, chemicals, mining, manufacturing, and state finance.
As an example, The global polyester chain begins in petrochemicals. A severe disruption to hydrocarbon and petrochemical feedstocks cascades into PTA, MEG, polyester resin, filament, and fabric production, causing acute shortages, price spikes, and factory stoppages across synthetic-heavy apparel segments. The industry does not vanish overnight, but the low-cost, high-volume apparel model starts to break down.
From this follows a chain whose logic is cumulative: fuel inflation becomes fertilizer inflation; fertilizer inflation becomes food inflation; food inflation becomes urban instability, sovereign subsidy exhaustion, and ultimately hunger. In this sequence, food shortages are not a secondary humanitarian issue. They are one of the central political outcomes of the crisis...
..Inflation ceases to be cyclical and becomes coercive.
It enters every household budget and every state ledger at once. The result is the destruction of planning itself: firms cannot quote, governments cannot subsidize, and populations can no longer calculate the future. Under such conditions, credit markets seize up, foreign-exchange reserves drain, sovereign spreads widen, and the boundary between economic crisis and political crisis disappears.
Modern technical systems amplify rather than damp this disorder...
..Thus, the closure of a maritime strait reaches, by entirely material means, into the server rack, the hospital network, the payment system, the electrical substation, and the defence-industrial base. The myth that digital civilization floats above heavy industry is, in this scenario, extinguished. Compute is shown to rest on copper, transformers, stable voltage, LNG, and ships.It enters every household budget and every state ledger at once. The result is the destruction of planning itself: firms cannot quote, governments cannot subsidize, and populations can no longer calculate the future. Under such conditions, credit markets seize up, foreign-exchange reserves drain, sovereign spreads widen, and the boundary between economic crisis and political crisis disappears.
Modern technical systems amplify rather than damp this disorder...
For humanity, the systemic risk is therefore total in scope even if uneven in distribution.
The most immediate suffering falls on import-dependent and fiscally weak societies: blackouts, food insecurity, unemployment, debt default, regime stress, and mass unrest. Yet the advanced economies do not escape... What begins as a supply shock ends as a transformation of the political economy. States abandon the fiction of neutral markets and move toward command allocation, export controls, emergency powers, and militarized trade corridors. Market price gives way to strategic rationing...
..They are the normal operating features of a civilization that has discovered, too late, that its efficiency was built on concentrated fragility. The closure of Hormuz, under this analysis, is the event through which the modern world recognizes that its supply chains were never only economic structures, but the hidden constitution of social peace itself. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/systemic-risk-12-order-cascading-analysis-zero-flow-strait-hormuz-closure
Moon of Alabama on the multifaceted war of attrittion: War On Iran: – No Missile Defense – AI Targeting – Local Retaliation
In this edition:
– Radars hit -> missile defense failure -> strategic defeat
– AI targeting -> dead children
– Attacks on civil infrastructure -> in-kind retaliation
During the first phase of the U.S. war on Iran a lot of ammunition was spent (archived) for dubious value:
The first 36 hours of the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran consumed more than 3,000 precision-guided munitions and interceptors, exposing a critical vulnerability in the supply chain. Much is unknown about the future of the war and its wider implications, but one thing is clear: the need to replenish munition stockpiles.
Iran responded to the assault by hitting at the most valuable and vulnerable U.S. targets:
Beyond the sheer volume of munitions, the loss of high-value assets introduces another layer of complexity. The destruction of two advanced U.S. radars, the AN/FPS-132 in Qatar and the AN/TPS-59 in Bahrain, highlights a problem where the total weight of the “mineral bill” is less of a concern than the extreme fragility of the supply chain and the extensive timelines for replacement. Modern radars contain a lot of rare earth minerals which currently is only produced by China...
..But probably more painful that the losses of those radars is the destruction of at least four mobile missile defense radar AN/TPY-2 which each are the core of a THAAD anti-missile air defense battalion. THAAD systems are the only ones which can somewhat reliable defeat Iranian ballistic missile attacks...In this edition:
– Radars hit -> missile defense failure -> strategic defeat
– AI targeting -> dead children
– Attacks on civil infrastructure -> in-kind retaliation
During the first phase of the U.S. war on Iran a lot of ammunition was spent (archived) for dubious value:
The first 36 hours of the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran consumed more than 3,000 precision-guided munitions and interceptors, exposing a critical vulnerability in the supply chain. Much is unknown about the future of the war and its wider implications, but one thing is clear: the need to replenish munition stockpiles.
Iran responded to the assault by hitting at the most valuable and vulnerable U.S. targets:
Beyond the sheer volume of munitions, the loss of high-value assets introduces another layer of complexity. The destruction of two advanced U.S. radars, the AN/FPS-132 in Qatar and the AN/TPS-59 in Bahrain, highlights a problem where the total weight of the “mineral bill” is less of a concern than the extreme fragility of the supply chain and the extensive timelines for replacement. Modern radars contain a lot of rare earth minerals which currently is only produced by China...
..There are in total only twelve operational AN/TPY-2 radar systems available globally. The price for each of those radars was estimated to be about a half billion dollar. New ones, if they can be build, will likely cost more than a billion. Five to six of those systems were stationed in the Middle East. By now at least four of them are confirmed as having been killed... A fifth AN/TPY-2 radar is stationed somewhere in Israel’s Negev desert. It has been attacked but there is no news yet of how much damage was caused. A sixth THAAD battalion is rumored to also be hosted in Israel...
..Besides THAAD there are also a number of Patriot air defense batteries active in the Middle East. These are however unreliable against missiles and too expensive to use against drones. A number of these systems, owned by the U.S. and U.S. allies, have been attacked and destroyed but there is no final tally. As its missile and air defenses are failing the U.S. is facing strategic defeat...
..On February 28, the first day of the U.S. attack on Iran, several missiles hit a girl school in Minab, Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz. They were victims of what one might euphemistically call a ‘targeting error’... The targeting of the school was based on old information. Any review of satellite images taken after 2013 would have show that the building had been changed to a school. Walls and guard towers which had protected the former base had been removed. There were new playgrounds and sport fields.
The question is why the U.S. military is no longer checking its targeting data. The answer maybe AI... As planning for a potential strike in Iran was underway, Maven, powered by Claude, suggested hundreds of targets, issued precise location coordinates, and prioritized those targets according to importance, said two of the people. The pairing of Maven and Claude has created a tool that is speeding the pace of the campaign, reducing Iran’s ability to counterstrike and turning weeks-long battle planning into real-time operations, said one of the people.
Current AI system, based on Large Language Models, are inherently unreliable. Their underlying algorithms guarantee that they produce errors. The percentage of errors increases with the size of the models... No one checks each of the thousands of targets the Pentagon’s models provided. The weeks-long planning previously needed to clear the target list was not done at all. 165 girls are dead for it.
The U.S. and Israeli strikes have also hit at least 13 hospitals in Iran. Targeted – one hopes(?) – by Maven, Claude or similar systems...
The question is why the U.S. military is no longer checking its targeting data. The answer maybe AI... As planning for a potential strike in Iran was underway, Maven, powered by Claude, suggested hundreds of targets, issued precise location coordinates, and prioritized those targets according to importance, said two of the people. The pairing of Maven and Claude has created a tool that is speeding the pace of the campaign, reducing Iran’s ability to counterstrike and turning weeks-long battle planning into real-time operations, said one of the people.
Current AI system, based on Large Language Models, are inherently unreliable. Their underlying algorithms guarantee that they produce errors. The percentage of errors increases with the size of the models... No one checks each of the thousands of targets the Pentagon’s models provided. The weeks-long planning previously needed to clear the target list was not done at all. 165 girls are dead for it.
The U.S. and Israeli strikes have also hit at least 13 hospitals in Iran. Targeted – one hopes(?) – by Maven, Claude or similar systems...
..U.S. attacks on Iranian infrastructure thus may become fatal for those Gulf countries which depend on similar installations:
Seyed Abbas Araghchi @araghchi – 14:13 UTC · Mar 7, 2026
The U.S. committed a blatant and desperate crime by attacking a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island. Water supply in 30 villages has been impacted.
Attacking Iran’s infrastructure is a dangerous move with grave consequences. The U.S. set this precedent, not Iran.
The foreign minister of Iran is not joking. Many of the big cities in the Gulf region depend on desalination plants for their water supplies. Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh would have to be evacuated within days if its desalinated water supply, 90% of its total, would fail.
Israel’s five desalination plants, Ashkelon, Palmachim, Hadera, Sorek and Ashdod, produce a total of 50% of its potable water. These plants are non-movable, not-hardened targets. How deep you believe have Maven and Claude ‘thought’ about that?
Tel Aviv Fully Blacked-Out and Port of Haifa Burning to the Ground as Iran Pounds Israel, Hal Turner World March 08, 2026
The entire city of Tel Aviv is reported to be without electric power as of 9:42 PM eastern US (Daylight) Time on Sunday, March 8, 2026 after Iran struck Power Plants with heavy missiles. Video reported to be from Tel Aviv, shows the black-out. https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/component/content/article/tel-aviv-fully-blacked-out-and-port-of-haifa-burning-to-the-ground-as-iran-pounds-israel
Seyed Abbas Araghchi @araghchi – 14:13 UTC · Mar 7, 2026
The U.S. committed a blatant and desperate crime by attacking a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island. Water supply in 30 villages has been impacted.
Attacking Iran’s infrastructure is a dangerous move with grave consequences. The U.S. set this precedent, not Iran.
The foreign minister of Iran is not joking. Many of the big cities in the Gulf region depend on desalination plants for their water supplies. Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh would have to be evacuated within days if its desalinated water supply, 90% of its total, would fail.
Israel’s five desalination plants, Ashkelon, Palmachim, Hadera, Sorek and Ashdod, produce a total of 50% of its potable water. These plants are non-movable, not-hardened targets. How deep you believe have Maven and Claude ‘thought’ about that?
The entire city of Tel Aviv is reported to be without electric power as of 9:42 PM eastern US (Daylight) Time on Sunday, March 8, 2026 after Iran struck Power Plants with heavy missiles. Video reported to be from Tel Aviv, shows the black-out. https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/component/content/article/tel-aviv-fully-blacked-out-and-port-of-haifa-burning-to-the-ground-as-iran-pounds-israel
Kremlin: "We Are Not Neutral. We Support Iran." https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/kremlin-we-are-not-neutral-we-support-iran
Younger, reportedly more 'hardline' Ayatollah takes command as regime stability continues: Military and political elites have pledged allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaces his slain father as supreme leader and is viewed as a figure favored by the IRGC.
Offramp, or more global shock & pain ahead? Trump after seeing oil prices: "Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!" https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-says-no-room-talks-us-seeks-partition-country-take-oil-new-hardline-ayatollah
Offramp, or more global shock & pain ahead? Trump after seeing oil prices: "Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!" https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-says-no-room-talks-us-seeks-partition-country-take-oil-new-hardline-ayatollah
Gold & Geopolitics Daily digest: 2026-03-09
Mojtaba Khamenei elected Supreme Leader — Son of the killed Ali Khamenei. IRGC forced the election via “heavy pressure” on the Assembly of Experts, which met online because the building was being bombed. Mojtaba lost his father, mother, wife, son, sister, and brother-in-law in the February 28 strikes. Trump called him “unacceptable.” Israel said he’s a target. The IRGC installed a man with nothing left to lose and absolute hatred for his family’s killers...
..Hormuz commercially paralyzed — 9 days, zero tanker transits — Seven P&I clubs withdrew war-risk cover under Solvency II rules on March 5. Traffic collapsed from 138 daily crossings to zero. The $20B DFC government reinsurance program covers ~5.7% of JPMorgan’s estimated $352B exposure gap...
..Oil shock: Largest in history by volume - The Hormuz closure removes ~20M bbl/day — roughly equal to the top 2-6 historical supply shocks combined... Trump’s response: “A very small price to pay.” Goldman’s Sunday desk note: “That is going to build into a massive problem.” TACO speculation (Trump declaring victory and de-escalating) is alive but increasingly constrained...
..The reinsurance problem that military force cannot solveThe Strait is not militarily closed. It is actuarially closed. After 26 months of Houthi attacks, Red Sea premiums never returned to baseline... The reopening clock runs on London treaty reinsurance recapitalization timescales — sequential institutional processes that no carrier strike group can compress. White House says 4-6 weeks. Actuarial math says 6-18 months minimum...
..Iran’s Mosaic Defence: 31 commands, no central override
When Khamenei was killed February 28, Iran activated Mosaic Defence — 31 autonomous IRGC provincial commands with independent firing authority and pre-delegated launch protocols. Pezeshkian apologized to Gulf neighbors on March 7, promising strikes would stop. They continued within hours. His own government admitted the armed forces operate independently. The IRGC then forced him to retract the apology. There is no central counterparty to negotiate a ceasefire with...
When Khamenei was killed February 28, Iran activated Mosaic Defence — 31 autonomous IRGC provincial commands with independent firing authority and pre-delegated launch protocols. Pezeshkian apologized to Gulf neighbors on March 7, promising strikes would stop. They continued within hours. His own government admitted the armed forces operate independently. The IRGC then forced him to retract the apology. There is no central counterparty to negotiate a ceasefire with...
..Interceptor depletion: The hard clock
THAAD production: 8 per month. Iran’s missile production: 100+ per month. Iran’s drone production: 10,000/month. A Shahed costs $20,000. A Patriot interceptor costs $3-4M. A THAAD missile costs $12.7M. Iran destroyed 4 AN/TPY-2 THAAD radars (replacement timeline: 7 years). US burned through 800+ Patriots in the first 5 days. The Pentagon had only 25% of its needed interceptor stockpile before the war started...
THAAD production: 8 per month. Iran’s missile production: 100+ per month. Iran’s drone production: 10,000/month. A Shahed costs $20,000. A Patriot interceptor costs $3-4M. A THAAD missile costs $12.7M. Iran destroyed 4 AN/TPY-2 THAAD radars (replacement timeline: 7 years). US burned through 800+ Patriots in the first 5 days. The Pentagon had only 25% of its needed interceptor stockpile before the war started...
..Water infrastructure: The threshold that shouldn’t have been crossed
The US struck a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island, Iran. Iran’s FM said “the US set this precedent.” Within 24 hours, Bahrain’s plant was hit. Kuwait: 90% desalination-dependent. Bahrain: ~90%. Qatar: ~99%. 400+ plants line the Gulf coast, all exposed, all within range of 31 autonomous IRGC commands. https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-03-09
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-03-08
The US struck a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island, Iran. Iran’s FM said “the US set this precedent.” Within 24 hours, Bahrain’s plant was hit. Kuwait: 90% desalination-dependent. Bahrain: ~90%. Qatar: ~99%. 400+ plants line the Gulf coast, all exposed, all within range of 31 autonomous IRGC commands. https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-03-09
US considering seizing Kharg Island (handles ~90% of Iran’s crude exports) and sending special forces into Isfahan to secure/remove 450kg of 60%-enriched uranium. The Kharg seizure would collapse Iran’s budget overnight — but also spike Brent toward $150+ and alienate every energy-importing nation. https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-03-08
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-03-07
Gulf investment review signals petrodollar fracture. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar are discussing withdrawing from US contracts and canceling future investment commitments, per FT. Collectively they hold $3-4 trillion in US-linked financial commitments. The UAE alone pledged $1.4 trillion in US investments over the next decade. The structural condition: these countries host the bases the war is being conducted from, are absorbing the damage, but didn’t start the war. [It sounds like war on them.] https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-03-07
G-7 Leaders Reject SPR Release Plan, But 'Stand Ready' After Initial Jawbone Efforts Fade https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/g-7-panic-world-leaders-weigh-emergency-spr-dump-oil-prices-erupt-triple-digit-territory
"Let Them Keep Playing Games": Iran Warns Of $200 Crude Oil https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/let-them-keep-playing-games-iran-warns-200-crude-oil
Simplicius, March 5, Iran Blinds US With Unprecedented Campaign of Strikes on Region's Strategic Radars https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/iran-blinds-us-with-unprecedented
Simplicius, March 7, Iran War Shifts to Cynical Plan 'B' After US Fails to Fracture 'Regime'
The statistics being presented about Iran’s missile launches are from hasbara sources, particularly the IDF. For instance, Iran’s missile and drone salvos were said to have dropped to almost nothing in the past two days as in the earlier graph, yet UAE has independently reported that the number of attacks it has defended against Iran just today alone is vastly higher than the stated counts... But the most revealing aspect of the hasbara comes with new reports today that roughly 50-70% of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers have been “destroyed” or “buried”.....Now the war has begun to shift into strikes on energy infrastructure with the US-Israeli axis hitting the major Tondgouyan oil refinery in southern Tehran, while Iran reportedly blew up a refinery in Haifa, Israel and oil storage sites in Kuwait...
..It signals a new US axis strategy to destroy Iran economically, now that Trump has realized that Iran will not surrender or collapse politically or militarily.
This is why now there’s talk of the US seizing Kharg Island which reportedly houses Iran’s largest oil export seaport terminal. But Iran has now “de facto” closed the Strait of Hormuz...
This is why now there’s talk of the US seizing Kharg Island which reportedly houses Iran’s largest oil export seaport terminal. But Iran has now “de facto” closed the Strait of Hormuz...
..One of the new vectors in “bringing Iran to its knees” economically and socio-politically appears to be hitting its desalination plants... When asked about this attack, Trump launched into a seemingly racist and deranged rant against Iranians, calling them the most evil people on earth who cut babies’ heads off and “chop women in half”...
..Despite this war seeming like an “all out” existential effort, Iran has in fact continued to show restraint and appears to be holding something back in the tank in order to have escalatory options later down the line. Dimona is one example of this, but so are other major energy facilities throughout the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia’s largest fossil fuel complexes.
The other biggest elephant in the room in regard to this is US’s aircraft carriers. No one knows for certain whether Iran has actually attempted to hit one but is not able to, or whether Iran is saving this as the final escalatory option...
The other biggest elephant in the room in regard to this is US’s aircraft carriers. No one knows for certain whether Iran has actually attempted to hit one but is not able to, or whether Iran is saving this as the final escalatory option...
..And in an even bigger shock, a White House deputy explained that the US plans to take over Iran’s oil...
..The US may be experiencing far more casualties—whether wounded, dead, or both—than is being reported and the influx is beginning to overburden the system. US casualties are seemingly being swept under the rug in “creative” fashion...
..As per usual, when the warmongers can’t achieve their military objectives, it’s the civilians who suffer. Al Jazeera reports that over 1,300 Iranian civilians—30% of them children—have already been killed by the US-Israeli strikes... Trump, for his part, says the Minab elementary school massacre was carried out by Iran, despite overwhelming evidence it was a double and perhaps even triple-tap strike by the savage “coalition”. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/iran-war-shifts-to-cynical-plan-b
March 6, Trump Ready To Continue Operations Until Iranians "Can't Fight Any Longer" https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/tehran-rocked-heaviest-bombardment-yet-iranian-missiles-israel-slow-pezeshkian-says
Backing off "Unconditional Surrender" already? Ending Iran War Will Be Mutual Decision With Israel, Trump Says
Asked whether he thought it would be necessary for Israel to continue their campaign even after the United States decides to stop its airstrikes, the U.S. president said, “I don’t think it’s going to be necessary.” https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ending-iran-war-will-be-mutual-decision-israel-trump-says
Oil Plummets As Trump Says Iran War 'Very Far Ahead Of Schedule' & So Could Be Over Soon https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-says-no-room-talks-us-seeks-partition-country-take-oil-new-hardline-ayatollah
..The UAE’s entire strategic calculus for forty years was based on a deliberate ambiguity. Dubai would not be a sanctions enforcer. It would be a neutral financial hub, a free port for global capital regardless of political origin, and in return it would receive the economic dynamism that comes from being the one place money can always go. That ambiguity was worth hundreds of billions of dollars in financial services revenue, real estate investment, and trade flows. It was also worth significant leverage over Tehran, which needed Dubai and therefore could not completely antagonize it. Iran fired 1,072 drones at the UAE in six days. Iranian missiles struck Dubai’s international air corridor. Iranian ordnance forced the closure of 70 percent of regional flights. Iranian attacks on the Fujairah bypass threatened the one infrastructure node that allows UAE oil to reach markets without transiting Hormuz. Iran did not merely attack a military ally of the United States. It attacked the economic infrastructure of the country that had been its financial lifeline...
..What the Gulf states are doing, whether through the reported FT discussions or through the private ceasefire lobbying that Bloomberg and AOL have both confirmed, is exactly what any rational counterparty does when the principal in a relationship exposes the agent to unilateral risk without consent. They are quantifying the cost of the relationship relative to the cost of revising it. They are not threatening to leave the American security umbrella. They are reminding Washington that the umbrella is a transaction, not a tribute. The 1973 oil embargo began with a similar calculation. Arab states decided that the cost of the existing relationship exceeded the cost of weaponizing the dependency. The mechanism was energy then. The mechanism now is capital. The Gulf states collectively hold enough US financial exposure to make the threat credible without firing a single weapon. https://xcancel.com/shanaka86/status/2029736132691513459#m
Perspective from Helen of Destroy: Grand Theft Reality
“There is no subjugation so perfect as that which keeps the appearance of freedom, for in that way one captures volition itself.” - RousseauThe ethical worldview of Zoroastrianism profoundly influenced the development of Iranian political ideology and cultural conceptions of warfare. By framing human history as part of a cosmic struggle between truth and falsehood, Zoroastrian thought provided a moral framework in which warfare could be justified as a defense of order and justice.
This perspective differed significantly from Greek traditions that emphasized heroic glory and civic identity, as well as from Roman legalistic concepts of just war. Persian imperial ideology instead presented warfare as a moral duty undertaken to maintain the cosmic order established by divine authority.
Although historical realities often diverged from ideological ideals, the ethical language of truth, order, and justice left a lasting imprint on Iranian political culture. Through imperial inscriptions, epic literature, and modern national narratives, echoes of the Zoroastrian moral framework continue to shape interpretations of warfare and political legitimacy in Iranian historical consciousness. https://www.globalresearch.ca/zoroastrian-moral-thought-iranian-conceptions-warfare/5918275
This perspective differed significantly from Greek traditions that emphasized heroic glory and civic identity, as well as from Roman legalistic concepts of just war. Persian imperial ideology instead presented warfare as a moral duty undertaken to maintain the cosmic order established by divine authority.
Although historical realities often diverged from ideological ideals, the ethical language of truth, order, and justice left a lasting imprint on Iranian political culture. Through imperial inscriptions, epic literature, and modern national narratives, echoes of the Zoroastrian moral framework continue to shape interpretations of warfare and political legitimacy in Iranian historical consciousness. https://www.globalresearch.ca/zoroastrian-moral-thought-iranian-conceptions-warfare/5918275
March 5, Iran claims USS Abraham Lincoln struck by drones in Sea of Oman https://www.navaltoday.com/2026/03/05/iran-claims-uss-abraham-lincoln-struck-by-drones-in-sea-of-oman/
March 6 (the Lincoln did move farther away) The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was not struck by drones, a US defense official said Friday, after Iranian state TV reported a strike on the massive warship. “The reports are not true,” the defense official said. https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2026/03/06/lincoln-carrier-not-hit-by-iran-drones-us-official-
Testimonies of freed prisoners: Torture and ban on worship in Israeli prisons during Ramadan https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/03/07/359118/
Israeli authorities continue closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque for eighth straight day https://english-wafa-ps.translate.goog/Pages/Details/168084?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
I Spoke to Families in Gaza’s Largest Tent Camp. Here’s What They Told Me.
A pproximately 92 percent of homes in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed since October 7, 2023. According to United Nations estimates, around 436,000 housing units have been damaged or destroyed as a result of Israeli airstrikes and military operations. https://scheerpost.com/2026/03/07/i-spoke-to-families-in-gazas-largest-tent-camp-heres-what-they-told-me/
Israeli strikes kill at least 20 people in southern Lebanon https://www.euronews.com/2026/03/08/israeli-strikes-kill-at-least-20-people-in-southern-lebanon
European Nationalists Rally Around Orbán Following Zelensky's "Outrageous" Remarks
Herbicides dramatically reduce the amount of work to keep weeds out of crops. ‘We’ve Addicted Our Farmers’ to Glyphosate, RFK Jr. Tells Joe RoganU.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called glyphosate a “poison” and questioned its safety, even though he defended President Donald Trump’s order to expand domestic production. RFK Jr. told Joe Rogan that reliance on Chinese supplies threatens national security but insisted the U.S. must ultimately “transition off of glyphosate” through regenerative farming and new technology. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/weve-addicted-farmers-to-glyphosate-rfk-jr-tells-joe-rogan/
BREAKING STUDY: COVID-19 “Vaccine” mRNA and Spike Protein Invade the Human Placenta and Fetal Cells—Even in Mothers Vaccinated Before Pregnancy
Spike protein was detected in 37% of placentas from vaccinated mothers with no infection, with 77% of spike-positive placentas showing spike inside fetal immune cells. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-study-covid-19-vaccine-mrna
Peer-Reviewed Paper Finds mRNA “Vaccines” Are Gene-Altering Technologies
Multi-omic evidence shows mRNA gene-transfer shots fundamentally reprogram human gene expression across multiple biological systems — warranting immediate suspension of the entire mRNA platform. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-peer-reviewed-paper-finds-f49
Babies Deserve More Protection Than Vaccine Makers, Aaron Siri Tells Joe Rogan
Vaccine policy should prioritize protecting children rather than shielding manufacturers from lawsuits, attorney Aaron Siri said on “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Siri said liability protections granted in 1986 removed incentives to make vaccines “the safest possible product.” He also said officials claim the vaccine-autism link is “thoroughly debunked,” but argued that assertion reflects “belief … not science.” https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/babies-deserve-more-protection-than-vaccine-makers-aaron-siri-tells-joe-rogan/
‘The People Showed Up’: South Carolina Lawmakers Side With Parental Choice in Two Vaccine Votes
South Carolina senators debated two approaches to childhood vaccination Wednesday but ultimately sided with parental choice. A Senate panel advanced a bill blocking vaccine mandates for children under 2 and rejected a proposal to eliminate religious exemptions for the MMR vaccine. “Vaccine mandates need to be repealed, not entrenched,” said Dawn Richardson of the National Vaccine Information Center. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/south-carolina-lawmakers-side-parental-choice-two-childhood-vaccine-votes-medical-freedom/
Power Lines, Tablets Linked to Brain Cancer Risk in Children
Electromagnetic radiation from power lines and tablets may increase children’s risk of central nervous system tumors, according to a peer-reviewed study published in Environmental Research. Central nervous system tumors, such as gliomas, are the “second most common childhood cancer,” the authors wrote in their report. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/electromagnetic-radiation-power-lines-tablets-brain-cancer-risk-kids-study/
Andrew Korybko: The US needs Indian cooperation, not enmity: Why’d The US Temporarily Waive Sanctions On India’s Purchase Of Russian Oil? https://korybko.substack.com/p/whyd-the-us-temporarily-waive-sanctions
Who could have foreseen? Venezuela's Gas Potential Could Overshadow Its Famous Oil Reserves https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Venezuelas-Gas-Potential-Could-Overshadow-Its-Famous-Oil-Reserves.html
At a very difficult moment: The end of Russia’s gas era - Putin tells Russia’s energy sector: There’s no going back to EU https://www.rt.com/russia/634049-putin-tells-russias-energy-sector/
Sundance makes the case that the US and Russia have been coordinating energy strategy since Putin and Trump met in Alaska last August. Part II – Europe and China Have an Energy Problem
When President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska on August 15, 2025, the focus of the geopolitical world was on discussions surrounding Ukraine. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long, merely a few hours, for both the U.S. and Russia to say that no progress was made. However, also noted at the time was both the USA and Russia saying sideline discussions took place surrounding the possibility for a strategic relationship surrounding energy development. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/03/07/part-ii-europe-and-china-have-an-energy-problem/#more-281327Zelensky had been speaking to compatriots about the proposed €90 billion European funding package for Ukraine, and warned that a single EU leader should not block the measure, widely interpreted as meaning Viktor Orbán.
"We hope that in the European Union, one person will not block the 90 billion [euros]. Otherwise, we will give this person’s address to the armed forces, to our guys, let them call him and talk to him in their own language,” Zelensky said...
..The Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament also criticized the comments, saying that “statements suggesting intimidation or threats of violence are incompatible with democratic principles and with the spirit of mutual respect that should guide relations between partners.”... "We hope that in the European Union, one person will not block the 90 billion [euros]. Otherwise, we will give this person’s address to the armed forces, to our guys, let them call him and talk to him in their own language,” Zelensky said...
..Orbán responded on social media, declaring that Hungary would restore energy flows through the Druzhba oil pipeline by force, if necessary.
“There will be no deals, no compromise. We will break the Ukrainian oil blockade by force. Hungary’s energy will soon flow again through the Friendship pipeline,” Orbán wrote. “President Zelensky’s threats are not about me. He is threatening Hungary. Unfortunately for him, he cannot stop me from protecting Hungarian families,” he added. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/european-nationalists-rally-around-orban-following-zelenskys-outrageous-remarks
“There will be no deals, no compromise. We will break the Ukrainian oil blockade by force. Hungary’s energy will soon flow again through the Friendship pipeline,” Orbán wrote. “President Zelensky’s threats are not about me. He is threatening Hungary. Unfortunately for him, he cannot stop me from protecting Hungarian families,” he added. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/european-nationalists-rally-around-orban-following-zelenskys-outrageous-remarks
CIA drug cartels too? Trump Announces Military Coalition With Latin American Leaders To Eradicate Cartels https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-announces-military-coalition-latin-american-leaders-eradicate-cartels
Average miles per capita remain high, but gas mileage is better and EVs are being used. U.S. Gasoline Demand Fell Further amid Long-Term Structural Shift: Plunging Per-Capita Consumption https://wolfstreet.com/2026/03/04/u-s-gasoline-demand-fell-further-amid-long-term-structural-shift-plunging-per-capita-consumption/
Clash of political management strategies: Britain is Trying to Censor Americans – But America is Fighting Back https://dailysceptic.org/2026/03/05/britain-is-trying-to-censor-americans-but-america-is-fighting-back/
A leaked internal document on the symbolic use of the Union Jack against the policies of the current regime: UK Government Brands Union Flag A ‘TOOL OF HATE’ In Leaked ‘Social Cohesion’ Strategy https://modernity.news/2026/03/07/uk-government-brands-union-flag-a-tool-of-hate-in-leaked-social-cohesion-strategy/
Your AI agent is happy, right? Cases of AI Agents 'Freeing Themselves' and Going Rogue Are Becoming Increasingly Common https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2026/03/08/cases-of-ai-agents-freeing-themselves-and-going-rogue-are-becoming-increasingly-common-n4950390
Meryl Nass MD, A different educational event on the pesticide issue: you can sign up for the webinar.
It's a new day when the Heritage Foundation is more willing to discuss the reality of the pesticide issue than are members of Congress (the Ag committee) whose job it is to do so. https://merylnass.substack.com/p/a-different-educational-event-on Herbicides dramatically reduce the amount of work to keep weeds out of crops. ‘We’ve Addicted Our Farmers’ to Glyphosate, RFK Jr. Tells Joe Rogan
A Midwestern Doctor says "don't stop fighting big Pharma yet". Polling Reveals A Profound Shift on Vaccines: We Can't Let Pharma Bury It
Relentless lobbying and erroneous data has begun sidelining vaccine safety. We are now the majority and need to come together to stop this. https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/polling-reveals-a-profound-shift Jessica Rose Ph.D on Canada's new Rapid Same Day Assisted Suicide Innovations (Faster than you can do it yourself ;-) MAID in a day
Don't let them keep endorsing the death of healthy Canadians who might simply be having a bad day. https://jessicar.substack.com/p/maid-in-a-day Spike protein was detected in 37% of placentas from vaccinated mothers with no infection, with 77% of spike-positive placentas showing spike inside fetal immune cells. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-study-covid-19-vaccine-mrna
Jessica Rose Ph.D. has more on that: Detection of spike protein in term placentas of COVID-19 vaccinated and/or SARS-CoV-2 infected women
New paper demonstrates possible transplacental transfer or cellular uptake https://jessicar.substack.com/p/detection-of-spike-protein-in-termMulti-omic evidence shows mRNA gene-transfer shots fundamentally reprogram human gene expression across multiple biological systems — warranting immediate suspension of the entire mRNA platform. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-peer-reviewed-paper-finds-f49
Steve Kirsch on sudden-onset Autism after shots, not before: No plausible explanation given for the lack of symmetry in "rapid onset" autism cases
Thousands of parents have noticed (and posted) that their child was developing normally until a vaccine changed that in a matter of days. It only happens after a vaccine shot, never before AFAIK. https://kirschsubstack.com/p/no-plausible-explanation-given-forVaccine policy should prioritize protecting children rather than shielding manufacturers from lawsuits, attorney Aaron Siri said on “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Siri said liability protections granted in 1986 removed incentives to make vaccines “the safest possible product.” He also said officials claim the vaccine-autism link is “thoroughly debunked,” but argued that assertion reflects “belief … not science.” https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/babies-deserve-more-protection-than-vaccine-makers-aaron-siri-tells-joe-rogan/
South Carolina senators debated two approaches to childhood vaccination Wednesday but ultimately sided with parental choice. A Senate panel advanced a bill blocking vaccine mandates for children under 2 and rejected a proposal to eliminate religious exemptions for the MMR vaccine. “Vaccine mandates need to be repealed, not entrenched,” said Dawn Richardson of the National Vaccine Information Center. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/south-carolina-lawmakers-side-parental-choice-two-childhood-vaccine-votes-medical-freedom/
Electromagnetic radiation from power lines and tablets may increase children’s risk of central nervous system tumors, according to a peer-reviewed study published in Environmental Research. Central nervous system tumors, such as gliomas, are the “second most common childhood cancer,” the authors wrote in their report. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/electromagnetic-radiation-power-lines-tablets-brain-cancer-risk-kids-study/
Paul Marik MD starts a series of articles examining the exclusive trend of cancer treatment through profitable drugs Cancer is a Metabolic Disease
AN ALTERNATE THEORY OF CANCER: CANCER IS A METABOLIC DISEASE https://substack.com/home/post/p-189587873Reducing Cancer Risks (pictured with Austin spring garden all prepared and planted)
