Energy Secretary Says Iran War Will End in Weeks

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has stated that the ongoing conflict with Iran is expected to conclude within the next few weeks, amid rising concerns over soaring gas prices.

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Voter turnout in France’s local elections surged to 57.6% in the first round, with far-right and leftist parties making significant gains, while President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party underperformed in major cities.

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Days after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested the war in Iran was protected by God, Pope Leo XIV issued a sharp rebuke and called for an immediate ceasefire.

Speaking from St. Peter’s Square during the Angelus, the Pope urged leaders to “cease fire so that avenues for dialogue may be reopened,” condemning attacks on schools, hospitals, and homes after two weeks of fighting that have reportedly killed more than a thousand civilians.

Later, preaching at a parish in Rome, Leo warned against invoking religion to justify war.

“Someone presumes to involve the name of God in choices of death,” he said. “But God cannot be enlisted by the darkness.”

The Trump administration has eased rules for the H-2A visa program, making it cheaper for farmers to hire temporary foreign workers as the U.S. faces a farm labor shortage.

Source: NYT

Ed Davey, the leader of the UK’s Liberal Democrats, has called for Britain to develop a fully independent nuclear deterrent that does not rely on the United States.

Currently, the UK operates nuclear submarines and warheads but depends on US-supplied Trident missiles.

Davey argues the UK should eventually replace this system with one entirely under British control.

A fuel tank hit overnight by an Iranian drone at Dubai International Airport is still burning.

Javier Bardem at the Oscars:

No to war and Free Palestine.

U.S. seizures of sanctioned oil tankers are costing millions to maintain, undercutting claims they would be profitable.

One seized tanker, Skipper, has already cost $47M in repairs and maintenance in just three months, despite being worth only about $10M.

The ship was carrying ~1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan oil valued at $120M–$135M.

Keeping the cargo stored costs the U.S. about $15,000 per day (~$450K per month).

The government cannot sell the tanker or oil without a court ruling, leaving taxpayers covering the costs.

The U.S. has seized about 10 tankers linked to Venezuela and Iran, including some without oil onboard, meaning maintenance costs still apply.

Source: NYT

A Palestinian confronted Zohran Mamdani over his stance on Israel and Palestine.

I'm hearing you say free Palestine, but also Israel has the right to exist.

Don't be hypocritical.

It does not have the right to exist. It's not your land to say it has the right to exist.

Two U.S. Navy minesweeping ships — USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara — were spotted in Malaysia, despite previously being deployed to Bahrain for Strait of Hormuz mine-clearing missions.

Their absence means 2 of the 3 U.S. mine countermeasure ships assigned to the Middle East are now thousands of miles away during the Iran conflict.

The move comes as Iran is suspected of laying naval mines in the Strait.

SOURCE

Profiles of several top Chinese weapons scientists have disappeared from the website of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Those removed include nuclear weapons expert Zhao Xiangeng, radar specialist Wu Manqing, and missile designer Wei Yiyin.

No explanation has been given for the removals.

Source: SCMP

Professor John Mearsheimer:

Trump was surprised that after he sent the armada to the Middle East the Iranians did not throw up their hands and capitulate.

In light of what happened in Venezuela, he thought he could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, and so forth and so on.

So he attacked.

Professor John Mearsheimer:

We’re not winning against Iran. We’re not winning.

We’re sending a message that we’re a bunch of fools. That we started a war we can’t win.

We didn’t have the required military forces to achieve any of the objectives that we were floating, and we had no plan.

What does this tell the Chinese and what does it tell the Russians?

It tells them that we are incompetent. Of course the Russians have had enough dealings with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to fully understand just how incompetent we are.

Turkish journalist Yahya Bostan:

Netanyahu convinced Trump by saying “Kill the leader and the rest will be easy, the people will overthrow the regime.”

Three weeks later, regime change is no longer even discussed.

The war has narrowed to the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump is now seeking international support to reopen the shipping route.

He’s probably deeply regretting it now.

Congo Republic Votes Amid Low Turnout & Internet Blackout

Republic of Congo voters cast ballots Sunday in a presidential election expected to extend Denis Sassou Nguesso’s rule, with low turnout in Brazzaville and a nationwide internet outage reported on election day.

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Germany’s Foreign Minister Wadephul:

International law must not… lead to an unjust regime like Iran simply being able to continue.

We stand by international law… but there are setbacks.

Restaurants in India are stopping deep frying food, while crematoriums are running out of gas to burn the dead, as the energy crisis triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupts supplies across South Asia.

Source: FT

A drone strike near Dubai International Airport caused flight diversions as Iran continues its attacks on Gulf countries, hitting civilian infrastructure and US assets.

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Germany’s Foreign Minister Wadephul on Iran War:

Will we soon be an active part of this conflict? No.

We will not participate in this conflict.

We want to participate in negotiations, because security for the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea will only be achieved through a negotiated solution, and that will require talking with the Iranians.