So does this practically mean it no longer has to care about production restrictions? If that’s the case, once this crisis (too) is over and nations have refilled their oil reserves, the world will be drowning in oil. Though I can’t say what the timeframe is…
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I’m returning to this point because the petrodollar narrative is constantly repeated in Russian propaganda, which is also spread by their YouTube agents. Global oil trade is so small that conducting it in another currency would not change the dollar’s status in any way:
Oil will continue to be priced in dollars in the future, and it is completely irrelevant whether physical barrels are exchanged directly for another currency or routed through dollars. It also has no direct link to where the proceeds are invested. The United States will continue to be a major investment destination for any global oil nation that is not subject to its sanctions.
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It seems Trump’s plan to keep the Strait of Hormuz open isn’t quite going according to plan.
IS follows the Iran war and the situation in the Middle East - Ilta-Sanomat
Iran claims: Two missiles hit a U.S. warship - Americans deny it
According to Iran’s Fars news agency, two missiles have hit a U.S. warship near the port of Jask in the Gulf of Oman. According to Iran, the American vessel did not obey Iranian warnings. Reuters reports on the matter.
The ship was approaching the southern end of the Strait of Hormuz but turned back, Fars reports.
However, a high-ranking American official denies Iran’s claims of missile hits, reports Axios.
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Iran has apparently struck the United Arab Emirates after a long hiatus, with three people reported injured. There seems to be coverage of this on Reuters and elsewhere. If this morning’s “Iran struck US vessels” turned out to be nonsense, then this appears to be the real deal.
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The United States is suspending ship escort operations in the Strait of Hormuz, in hopes of reaching some form of agreement:
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Oil spill in Kharg into the sea:
LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - A suspected oil spill covering dozens of square kilometres of sea near Iran’s main oil hub of Kharg Island has been seen on satellite imagery this week.
The likely spill - appearing on images as a grey and white slick - covered waters to the west of the 8-kilometre (5-mile) long island, pictures from Copernicus’s Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 satellites showed on May 6-8.
“The slick appears visually consistent with oil,” said Leon Moreland, researcher at the Conflict and Environment Observatory, who estimated that it was covering an area of approximately 45 square km.
Ceasefire is cracking on both sides:
It remains to be seen how long the Iranian economy can withstand this blockade:
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Israel has likely finally taken control of the yellow line area in Lebanon, south of the Litani River. The fog of war obscures the exact location of the front line, and many areas cannot therefore be reliably ‘sourced’ as being under Israeli administration, but airstrikes are now regularly carried out exclusively on the other side of the yellow line, which would suggest that there are no longer enemies within the yellow line to strike against:
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Trump blurted out (on his Truth Social platform) the attached half an hour ago; it seems ominous based on the final sentences. Unless he is preparing the markets for a drop, allowing his inner circle to buy something in the pre-market, and just before the market opens, announces that peace has been agreed upon or that actual peace negotiations are beginning.
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I’m starting to get pretty tired of this gentleman, and I’m sure many others on this planet are too. The world’s leading nation has a president with vast powers who praises himself for passing a cognitive test, and several times at that. In many other countries, people are subjected to cognitive tests when placement in a nursing home or similar is being considered. The US has a major problem here, and at the same time, this problem affects the entire world.
Aging and the resulting decline in performance are progressive conditions, meaning that each coming day is, on average, worse than the previous ones.
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French aircraft carrier in position in case a new hullabaloo begins:
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Israel has begun crossing the Litani River:
Even though it would be geographically “natural” to draw Israel’s new border along the riverbank, Israel wants a strip from the other side of the river for itself, so that crossing the river does not become an obstacle in future wars.
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