Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The White House and FBI on Thursday disputed claims of an internal government alert saying Iran wants to launch drones to attack the West Coast of the United States, saying that ABC News should move to retract its reporting.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on Feb. 18, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A report and social media post from ABC News on Wednesday said that the FBI warned police departments in California of the potential threat. The media outlet said it cited an FBI alert that its reporters reviewed.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in an X post on Thursday, “No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did.”

Leavitt said the ABC News story and X post “should be immediately retracted … for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people.”

“They wrote this based on one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unverified tip,” she wrote. “The email even states the tip was based on *unverified* intelligence. Yet ABC News left out this critical fact in their story! WHY?”

Responding to ABC, FBI spokesman Ben Williamson said that ABC’s report omitted the word “unverified” from the bulletin that was sent by the FBI to its local Joint Terrorism Task Forces partners. He included a screenshot of ABC’s report and a screenshot text of the FBI’s bulletin.

“We recently acquired unverified information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack” with drones targeting the United States from “an unidentified vessel,” the FBI bulletin stated, in part, according to his X post.

The bulletin added the law enforcement bureau has “no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”

ABC News, which is owned by Disney, has not publicly responded to Leavitt or Williamson. The Epoch Times contacted ABC News for comment on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said in a Wednesday post that the office is keeping “an elevated level of readiness and is maintaining increased vigilance as we continue to protect our residents of Los Angeles County. We are working closely with our federal and local law enforcement partners to share intelligence and monitor the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and assess any potential impacts in our communities.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office office said the bulletin ​was one of many security updates ⁠the state receives from federal partners daily. California, it said, had elevated its security posture since the start of the Iran conflict.

In a message posted on X, the governor’s office said Newsom was “in constant coordination with security and intelligence officials” to ​monitor “potential threats to California—including those tied to the conflict in the Middle East.”

Iranian-made Shahed-136 “Kamikaze” drone flies over the sky of Kermanshah, Iran on March 7, 2024. Anonymous/Middle East Images/Middle East Images via AFP via Getty images

The confidential alert, issued by the FBI, surfaced publicly on Wednesday as the war, which began on Feb. 28 with massive U.S.–Israeli bombardments of Iran, stretched into its 12th day.

The Iranian regime, whose supreme leader and other top officials were killed in the air ​strikes, has responded with missile and drone aircraft attacks against Israel and several Gulf states that host U.S. military installations. The regime has said it would target commercial vehicles in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, while the country’s new leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said on Thursday that the strait should remain closed indefinitely.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday, when asked by a reporter about Iranian sleeper cells in the United States, said that the administration is tracking most of them and knows where they are.

Reuters contributed to this report.

* * * Please consider supporting ZeroHedge with the purchase of a hat, t-shirt, or multitool. Thank you. 

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The White House and FBI on Thursday disputed claims of an internal government alert saying Iran wants to launch drones to attack the West Coast of the United States, saying that ABC News should move to retract its reporting.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on Feb. 18, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A report and social media post from ABC News on Wednesday said that the FBI warned police departments in California of the potential threat. The media outlet said it cited an FBI alert that its reporters reviewed.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in an X post on Thursday, “No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did.”

Leavitt said the ABC News story and X post “should be immediately retracted … for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people.”

“They wrote this based on one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unverified tip,” she wrote. “The email even states the tip was based on *unverified* intelligence. Yet ABC News left out this critical fact in their story! WHY?”

Responding to ABC, FBI spokesman Ben Williamson said that ABC’s report omitted the word “unverified” from the bulletin that was sent by the FBI to its local Joint Terrorism Task Forces partners. He included a screenshot of ABC’s report and a screenshot text of the FBI’s bulletin.

“We recently acquired unverified information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack” with drones targeting the United States from “an unidentified vessel,” the FBI bulletin stated, in part, according to his X post.

The bulletin added the law enforcement bureau has “no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”

ABC News, which is owned by Disney, has not publicly responded to Leavitt or Williamson. The Epoch Times contacted ABC News for comment on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said in a Wednesday post that the office is keeping “an elevated level of readiness and is maintaining increased vigilance as we continue to protect our residents of Los Angeles County. We are working closely with our federal and local law enforcement partners to share intelligence and monitor the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and assess any potential impacts in our communities.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office office said the bulletin ​was one of many security updates ⁠the state receives from federal partners daily. California, it said, had elevated its security posture since the start of the Iran conflict.

In a message posted on X, the governor’s office said Newsom was “in constant coordination with security and intelligence officials” to ​monitor “potential threats to California—including those tied to the conflict in the Middle East.”

Iranian-made Shahed-136 “Kamikaze” drone flies over the sky of Kermanshah, Iran on March 7, 2024. Anonymous/Middle East Images/Middle East Images via AFP via Getty images

The confidential alert, issued by the FBI, surfaced publicly on Wednesday as the war, which began on Feb. 28 with massive U.S.–Israeli bombardments of Iran, stretched into its 12th day.

The Iranian regime, whose supreme leader and other top officials were killed in the air ​strikes, has responded with missile and drone aircraft attacks against Israel and several Gulf states that host U.S. military installations. The regime has said it would target commercial vehicles in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, while the country’s new leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said on Thursday that the strait should remain closed indefinitely.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday, when asked by a reporter about Iranian sleeper cells in the United States, said that the administration is tracking most of them and knows where they are.

Reuters contributed to this report.

* * * Please consider supporting ZeroHedge with the purchase of a hat, t-shirt, or multitool. Thank you. 

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The White House and FBI on Thursday disputed claims of an internal government alert saying Iran wants to launch drones to attack the West Coast of the United States, saying that ABC News should move to retract its reporting.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a news briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on Feb. 18, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A report and social media post from ABC News on Wednesday said that the FBI warned police departments in California of the potential threat. The media outlet said it cited an FBI alert that its reporters reviewed.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in an X post on Thursday, “No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did.”

Leavitt said the ABC News story and X post “should be immediately retracted … for providing false information to intentionally alarm the American people.”

“They wrote this based on one email that was sent to local law enforcement in California about a single, unverified tip,” she wrote. “The email even states the tip was based on *unverified* intelligence. Yet ABC News left out this critical fact in their story! WHY?”

Responding to ABC, FBI spokesman Ben Williamson said that ABC’s report omitted the word “unverified” from the bulletin that was sent by the FBI to its local Joint Terrorism Task Forces partners. He included a screenshot of ABC’s report and a screenshot text of the FBI’s bulletin.

“We recently acquired unverified information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack” with drones targeting the United States from “an unidentified vessel,” the FBI bulletin stated, in part, according to his X post.

The bulletin added the law enforcement bureau has “no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”

ABC News, which is owned by Disney, has not publicly responded to Leavitt or Williamson. The Epoch Times contacted ABC News for comment on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said in a Wednesday post that the office is keeping “an elevated level of readiness and is maintaining increased vigilance as we continue to protect our residents of Los Angeles County. We are working closely with our federal and local law enforcement partners to share intelligence and monitor the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and assess any potential impacts in our communities.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office office said the bulletin ​was one of many security updates ⁠the state receives from federal partners daily. California, it said, had elevated its security posture since the start of the Iran conflict.

In a message posted on X, the governor’s office said Newsom was “in constant coordination with security and intelligence officials” to ​monitor “potential threats to California—including those tied to the conflict in the Middle East.”

Iranian-made Shahed-136 “Kamikaze” drone flies over the sky of Kermanshah, Iran on March 7, 2024. Anonymous/Middle East Images/Middle East Images via AFP via Getty images

The confidential alert, issued by the FBI, surfaced publicly on Wednesday as the war, which began on Feb. 28 with massive U.S.–Israeli bombardments of Iran, stretched into its 12th day.

The Iranian regime, whose supreme leader and other top officials were killed in the air ​strikes, has responded with missile and drone aircraft attacks against Israel and several Gulf states that host U.S. military installations. The regime has said it would target commercial vehicles in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, while the country’s new leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said on Thursday that the strait should remain closed indefinitely.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday, when asked by a reporter about Iranian sleeper cells in the United States, said that the administration is tracking most of them and knows where they are.

Reuters contributed to this report.

* * * Please consider supporting ZeroHedge with the purchase of a hat, t-shirt, or multitool. Thank you. 

In a move underscoring America’s drive for nuclear fuel sovereignty, Centrus Energy and Palantir announced an AI-powered partnership aimed at slashing costs and fast-tracking the multi-billion-dollar expansion of U.S. uranium enrichment capacity.

The collaboration, showcased at Thursday’s AIPCon 9 event, deploys Palantir’s Foundry and Artificial Intelligence Platform across Centrus’ operations. Early work since late January has already pinpointed nearly $300 million in potential cost savings and efficiencies. This would be on top of the $900 million they were recently awarded for their expansion efforts. 

Further gains are expected to compress manufacturing lead times and accelerate the rollout of new capacity at Centrus’ Ohio plant, which is the only U.S.-owned commercial enrichment facility currently operating. The company is already starting to prepare additional centrifuges at their manufacturing facilities. 

Centrus President and CEO Amir Vexler remarked on the immediate cost savings and their ongoing EPC partnership with Fluor, while Palantir Industrials EVPs Joanna Peller and Tom McArdle noted how the partnership demonstrates how “AI-powered software can drive measurable impact in critical infrastructure projects”.

The announcement between the two companies came on the same day Energy Secretary Chris Wright was providing comments to CNN regarding enriched uranium imports from Russia. 

The U.S. will rely on “our partners in Europe” to enable the U.S. to fully cut off uranium imports from Russia by the current deadline of 2028. 

As Demand Grows, US Nuclear Energy Industry Faces Looming Crunch In Reactor Fuel Supply https://t.co/DfRbhoNGzD

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 15, 2026

There’s an obvious desire by the U.S. to cut their dependence on Russian imports, given the Russians currently supply about 20-25% of the feedstock required by the U.S. commercial nuclear fleet.

As Secretary Wright noted on Thursday morning, the quickest likely path are the ongoing expansion efforts at the already-operating enrichment facility in New Mexico owned by Urenco. 

Authored by RT Watson via The Block,

Quick Take

Aave Labs founder and CEO Stani Kulechov said a crypto user “attempted to buy AAVE using $50 million in USDT through the Aave interface” but only received about $36,000 worth of the token in return.
CoW Swap said the “transaction executed according to the parameters of the signed order” and that “clear price impact warnings” were given.

When someone in crypto loses millions of dollars in an instant, it’s usually due to a hack or an exploit. But, on Thursday, one crypto whale appears to have lost nearly $50 million simply trying to swap USDT for AAVE.

“Earlier today, a user attempted to buy AAVE using $50 million USDT through the Aave interface. Given the unusually large size of the single order, the Aave interface, like most trading interfaces, warned the user about extraordinary slippage and required confirmation via a checkbox,” Aave Labs founder and CEO Stani Kulechov said in a post to X.

Earlier today, a user attempted to buy AAVE using $50M USDT through the Aave interface.

Given the unusually large size of the single order, the Aave interface, like most trading interfaces, warned the user about extraordinary slippage and required confirmation via a checkbox.…

— Stani.eth (@StaniKulechov) March 12, 2026

Thursday’s mishap could be the largest of its kind in history. Last year, a crypto trader lost considerably less when they swapped about $733,000 of USDC for roughly $19,000 in USDT as a result of a large sandwich attack.

“The user confirmed the warning on their mobile device and proceeded with the swap, accepting the high slippage, which ultimately resulted in receiving only 324 AAVE in return,” Kulechov added.

Slippage is the difference between the price a trader would expect to get in a trade and the price they receive once the transaction executes. This can happen in large orders or when liquidity is weak.

Yes.

— Stani.eth (@StaniKulechov) March 12, 2026

CoW Swap, which has an established integration with Aave, also took to social media. “Based on what we’ve seen so far, there’s no indication of a protocol exploit or otherwise malicious behavior. The transaction executed according to the parameters of the signed order,” the organization posted to X. “Our interface shows clear price impact warnings for swaps of this magnitude. We’re continuing to review the details and will share updates as we learn more.”

Kulechov said Aave sympathizes with the user and is trying to contact them and return “$600,000 in fees collected from the transaction.”

[ZH] And where did it go?

This Mev Bot managed to extract almost $10M worth of ETHhttps://t.co/HFOx32Y4dw pic.twitter.com/TZJpHemecY

— Emmett Gallic (@emmettgallic) March 12, 2026

Western intelligence officials believe Russia’s role in supporting Iran amid the US-Israeli military campaign is deepening, alongside potential expanding involvement by China.

Bloomberg, citing officials, writes in a fresh Thursday report: “Moscow is currently providing Iran with various forms of intelligence, including satellite imagery and drone targeting tactics, in an effort to help Iran hit back at US forces in the region, according to people familiar with US and Western intelligence.”

Iran Ministry of Defense/WANA

Within the first week of Trump’s Operation Epic Fury it was widely alleged that Russia was giving Iran targeting information concerning US bases and assets in the region. 

While there’s nothing in the way of smoking gun proof, all are in agreement that American bases have been hit hard, with US installations as far away as Jordan having suffered severe missile impact damage.

Western political leaders are now seizing on these allegations, to do more ‘Putin is a global menace’ hype. As a case in point:

“No one will be surprised to believe that Putin’s hidden hand is behind some of the Iranian tactics and potentially some of their capabilities as well,” UK Defence Secretary John Healey said at a military briefing in London on Thursday.

“Patterns of Iranian attack have the hallmarks of the way Russia is attacking Ukraine,” he said, adding that was to be expected “knowing how closely that alliance of aggression has been growing over the last few years.”

And they are also quickly saying the same of the ‘China menace’ – according to more from Bloomberg:

Following an intelligence briefing on Iran earlier this week, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, said Russia seems to be aiding Tehran “actively and intensively, with intelligence and perhaps with other means” and added that “China may also be assisting Iran.”

Trump’s Iran gambit is certainly not going to plan, and may drag Washington into another (predictable) Middle East quagmire. 

These flurry of recent reports accusing Russia and China of rushing to to aid the Islamic Republic’s military machine seem motivated at least in part by a Washington political class who is completely unwilling to admit their own mistakes and stupidity. 

So now, each misstep and disastrous US action in the Persian Gulf region can be chalked up to “but Putin did this” or “Xi did that…” 

Remember what the ex-CIA #2 said about killing Russians in Syria? The Kremlin surely does:

For example, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who it can be argued bears some responsibility for the developing Iran war fiasco, has already stated: “The Russians said that they have not been sharing — that’s what they said, so we can take them at their word,. He said: “It’s a better question for the intel people. But let’s hope that they’re not sharing.”

If the Russians are sharing, what is Washington going to do about it? What can the US or Pentagon do at this point?

Authored by Tim O’Brien via PJMedia.com,

Now that the Virginia General Assembly has passed what it calls “assault weapon ban” legislation, all that’s needed is for Gov. Abigail Spanberger to sign it into law, which is all but a given. Once signed, Senate Bill 749 will likely take effect as soon as July 1, 2026. 

The law will ban the sale, import, manufacture, purchase, and transfer of what it describes as “assault firearms,” and it will treat high-capacity magazines that can hold 15 rounds or more in the same way. It will make any violations of the law a “Class 1 misdemeanor,” which could mean up to a year in jail and a $2,500 for a first offense. 

While SB 749 does not explicitly ban AR-15 rifles, since the popular long rifle falls under the bill’s definition of assault weapons, it will be effectively banned. 

A Bangladeshi immigrant who has served in the Virginia Senate since 2024 is the sponsor of the massively aggressive gun control legislation. Saddam Azlan Salim came to America when he was 10 years old, settling with his family in Fairfax County. 

🚨 BREAKING: Virginia Democrats just passed a gun control bill proposed by Bangladesh Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim — that would ban so-called “assault weapons,” sending it to Gov. Spanberger’s desk

Virginia REALLY screwed up.

Elections. Have. Consequences. pic.twitter.com/IltWEiFGJI

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 9, 2026

His bill, which will make guns with pistol grips, retractable stocks, and large magazines illegal for sale in Virginia, passed the state’s Senate on Feb. 9 by a close vote of 21-19.

On March 4, the House voted 59-35 for a substitute version of the bill, and on March 9, the Senate approved the substitute bill. This means the legislation is one signature away from law and the inevitable court fight that Second Amendment advocates hope will go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Gun Owners of America (GOA) pointed out that what’s being banned is not “rare or unusual,” emphasizing that “these are not unusual items.” 

In a statement in the wake of the legislation’s passage, GOA said in part: 

SB 749 is a blatant, unconstitutional attack on the people of Virginia and a direct violation of our God given right to keep and bear arms. It is the latest attempt by an anti gun Democrat legislature to strip citizens of their rights while pretending they are making anyone safer. 

Instead of targeting criminals, it targets you. It punishes peaceful Virginians for exercising a constitutional right. 

And make no mistake, this bill will trigger lawsuits resulting in years of expensive litigation for Virginia taxpayers, who will be forced to fund the Commonwealth’s legal defense of obviously infringing legislation.

Spanberger was framed during the campaign as “the Anti-Mamdani.”

Won and immediately went hardcore left.

They all want the same stuff. They’ll just say whatever needs to be said during the campaign to get there. https://t.co/jhy6etUAtc pic.twitter.com/TDj96RdcVp

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) January 20, 2026

If you carry a handgun, this could affect you if your magazine holds in excess of 10 rounds. If this is what a moderate Democrat looks like, I’d hate to see an extremist. 

Troubled SaaS icon Adobe tumbled after hours, sending its stock to 7 year lows after the company announced that CEO Shantanu Narayen will resign from the creative software giant amid deep skepticism about the company’s ability to survive and thrive in the AI era. Narayen had served as CEO of the company for 18 years, and will remain in the position until a successor has been appointed, Adobe said Thursday in a statement. He will stay on as board chairman.

The CEO change “adds questions around strategic continuity, capital allocation priorities, and pace of innovation,” Grace Harmon, an analyst at Emarketer, said in an email. “Investors will likely focus on whether incoming leadership maintains a balance between disciplined execution and aggressive AI investment, especially as competition in creative and enterprise AI intensifies.”

The company also gave a sales forecast for the current quarter that just topped estimates, but failed to ease investor fears that the software maker is being left behind by new competitors.

In the fiscal first quarter, revenue increased 12% to $6.4 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $6.28 billion. Adjusted earnings were $6.06 a share in the period, which ended Feb. 27. The average projection was $5.88 a share.

Annual recurring revenue for the company’s AI-first products such as Firefly more than tripled compared to the same period last year, Narayen said in a script prepared for a conference call scheduled after the results. In September, Adobe said sales from these products exceeded $250 million.

“We are focused on selecting the right leader for this next exciting chapter of the company’s growth and are grateful for Shantanu’s continued leadership as CEO to ensure a smooth transition,” said Frank Calderoni, the board’s lead independent director, who will oversee the search for Narayen’s successor.

For the quarter ending in May, the company expects revenue to be $6.43BN – $6.48BN, vs a conservative estimate of $6.43BN. Profit, excluding some items, will be $5.80 to $5.85 a share, compared with an average projection of $5.70. 

The maker of creative software such as Photoshop is among a group of application software makers, including Salesforce and Atlassian that are seen as struggling to win new customers in the face of much cheaper AI upstarts. Adobe has worked to weave artificial intelligence tools through its creative and marketing software, and offers its own range of AI models meant to generate imagery that doesn’t carry copyright risks in an effort to keep its massive market share. 

“Sentiment is constrained by long-term AI fears, current competitive pressures, revenue deceleration, and margin headwinds from AI investments,” wrote Brent Thill, an analyst at Jefferies, in a note ahead of earnings.

The shares fell about 6% in extended trading after closing at $269.78 in New York. The stock has declined about 23% this year, and is about to drop the lowest level since 2019. 

The Middle East conflict has triggered what the International Energy Agency earlier described as the largest oil supply disruption in global oil market history, as Iran continues to strike energy infrastructure across the Gulf. Against that deteriorating backdrop, Goldman analysts laid out how the shock is rippling through the global economy, disrupting oil flows, air travel, and freight markets.

Analysts led by Patrick Creuset said oil and transport markets have taken the hardest hit from the near-freeze in crude tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The disruption has also spilled into air travel, with a sharp decline in flights across the Gulf, though the fallout has so far remained largely contained to the region. Air cargo between Asia and Europe, however, has been hit the hardest, given the large role Middle Eastern airlines play in global freight.

Impact summary:

Oil

Crude tanker transits across the Strait of Hormuz have largely stopped over the past week (9 March, Exhibit 1). Saudi Aramco commented with their earnings release (10 March) they would be ramping their East-West pipeline to Yanbu (Red Sea export terminal) to full capacity; our oil team assume 3mb/d of extra pipeline flows/capacity vs. 20-21mbd of pre conflict exports via Hormuz. Direct (cost) and indirect (potential demand destruction) effects of disruption to energy flows remain the main impacts to watch across our transport coverage. The price of very low sulfur marine fuel (VLSFO) for instance has roughly doubled vs. the Jan/Feb average Exhibit 5, while NWE jet fuel cracks hit record highs also roughly doubling jetfuel prices Exhibit 3. Europe holds commercial jetfuel stocks equivalent to a couple of weeks worth of consumption, on our estimates, with the majority of imports coming from refineries in the Gulf and India Exhibit 4.

Air travel

The main impact on air travel thus far has been a significant reduction in flights to and from the Gulf, with about half of the initial decline in volumes recovered in recent days Exhibit 6. This has translated into a low single digit impact at major European hubs in the days following the start of the conflict, which seems to have been at least partially recovered as of yesterday Exhibit 10. Overall we see a slight reduction in overall air travel volumes in Europe Exhibit 8 and US Exhibit 7, but no sign of a broader impact on travel sentiment so far. North Atlantic activity levels for example continue to look normal Exhibit 9. On fares, our trackers point to increases recently, with high single digit % sequential increases on the main routes across our covered airlines for Easter and May travel Exhibit 12; all else equal and assuming no hedging in place we estimate unit revenues would need to increase by mid to high teens % vs. 2025 levels to cover current jetfuel prices, with higher % increases required for the LCCs vs. flags.

Freight

Given the Middle East airlines account for a mid-teens % of global cargo volumes, air cargo capacity between Asia and Europe has been significantly reduced since the start of the conflict, in line with our first take last week. The initial impact on volumes flown is negative, given the roughly ~50% reduction in Middle East flights over the last week Exhibit 6; however with the end of the Chinese NY holidays last week underlying demand is likely to increase from a seasonal perspective, driving rates higher Exhibit 14. Manufactured and perishable goods trade is clearly most disrupted in the Gulf, with some albeit limited capacity to re-route container flows via terminals in the Gulf of Oman/ east of Hormuz, as well as multimodal solutions (overland, air). In container shipping, while there is some regional disruption/port congestion plus c.1% of the global fleet trapped in the Gulf, the impact on the capacity side from a global level is much more limited than e.g. covid or the Red Sea crisis. From a demand point of view, the Middle East accounts for about 4% of global container imports, and many services have been suspended. For affected cargo in transit carriers have added emergency surcharges, and the industry is also implementing fuel surcharges more broadly across the network in order to pass on the significant increase bunker costs (liners don’t hedge but tend to have 4-6 weeks in the tank); while this is driving freight rates higher (futures, not actual rates as of yesterday Exhibit 17), the net impact of this conflict on container lines looks mixed overall and will depend on how global demand is affected, and how the conflict is resolved (given the impact this could have on also potentially reopening the Suez).

Creuset’s note includes 80 charts around the world showing disruptions. Here, we’ll focus on just a few, but Professional subscribers can view the full chartbook on our Marketdesk.ai portal.

VLCC rates on offer above covid highs

NWE jet fuel cracks hit record highs

Gulf air travel implodes

Air cargo volumes slide 

Tanker traffic on Hormuz chokepoint 

Certainly, the Middle East conflict has unleashed an energy shock that is now rippling across some transportation networks, while raising new concerns about stagflation. The key question is how insulated the U.S. economy will remain. As we noted on Wednesday, one growing risk is that fertilizer disruptions could evolve into a broader global food price shock.

Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,

We live at a time when millions upon millions of us feel deeply unsettled. The news is filled with constant headlines about war, political chaos, economic problems and major natural disasters. A lot of people feel like humanity’s story is building up to some sort of a crescendo, and they are not optimistic about what that will mean.

In fact, a new study conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia has discovered that nearly one-third of the people living in the United States and Canada actually believe that the world will end within their lifetimes…

Almost a third of people living in the USA and Canada believe that the world will end within their lifetime. According to new research, this could affect how they view the challenges facing society, though this very much depends on what kind of apocalypse the individual is envisioning.

I was quite surprised to learn that so many people believe that the end of the world is rapidly approaching, and so were the researchers…

“Belief in the end of the world is surprisingly common across North America, and it’s significantly influencing how people interpret and respond to the most pressing threats facing humanity,” said Dr. Matthew I. Billet, the study’s lead author who conducted the research as a PhD candidate in UBC’s psychology department. He is now a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Irvine.

The research draws on surveys of more than 3,400 people in the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S. national sample of 1,409 respondents, nearly one‑third said they believe the world will end within their lifetime.

Of course the world is not going to end any time soon.

But as global events spiral out of control, it will certainly feel like “the world is ending” to much of the population.

At this moment, the chaotic war that has erupted in the Middle East is causing emotions to run very high.

It is difficult for me to imagine how freaked out everyone will be if this war escalates even more.

Already, Iran has chosen to escalate matters quite dramatically by regularly using cluster munitions…

Hezbollah and Iran launched a coordinated strike strategy Tuesday, a national security expert claimed, as reports emerged that deadly cluster munitions were hitting Israel in synchronized attacks.

The developments unfolded on day 11 of Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion, the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign targeting Iran, marking a potential escalation in the widening regional conflict.

“Hezbollah has fully joined the war, and it looks like they are now very well coordinated with Iran,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital while speaking from his bomb shelter near Tel Aviv.

Over and over again, we have seen cluster munitions rain down in Israeli territory.

The reason why cluster munitions have been banned by more than 120 countries is because they are specifically designed to cause large scale civilian casualties over a large area…

Fox News correspondent Nate Foy also said despite Israel’s strong air defense, half of the missiles are hard to defend against because half of the missiles are cluster munitions.

“The Iranian use of cluster missiles and the idea that they deliberately target civilians and civil facilities must be considered as a use of non-conventional weapons, and the American-Israeli response must be appropriate,” Michael urged.

Banned by more than 120 nations under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, the weapons are widely condemned for their broad-area, indiscriminate effects that often result in catastrophic civilian harm.

The Iranians have also chosen to escalate matters by deploying naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz…

Iran has deployed about a dozen naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported Wednesday citing two sources familiar with the matter.

One source said the locations of most of the mines were known but declined to say how the United States planned to address them. CNN first reported the mining of the strait on Tuesday.

Even if a way can be found to remove those mines, the Iranians will just continue hitting ships with drones.

In fact, earlier today I discussed the fact that the Iranians just hit three more cargo vessels in a 24 hour period.

Of course the U.S. and Israel have been escalating things too.

Just hours ago, U.S. Central Command issued a warning urging Iranian civilians to stay away from ports along the Strait of Hormuz because the U.S. military is about to start bombing them…

On March 11, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is issuing a warning to civilians that the Iranian regime is using civilian ports along the Strait of Hormuz to conduct military operations that threaten international shipping.

This dangerous action risks the lives of innocent people. Civilian ports used for military purposes lose protected status and become legitimate military targets under international law.

CENTCOM urges civilians in Iran to immediately avoid all port facilities where Iranian naval forces are operating. Iranian dockworkers, administrative personnel, and commercial vessel crews should avoid Iranian naval vessels and military equipment.

The regime in Iran is going to be really upset when they begin losing their most important ports.

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In addition, there are unconfirmed reports that are claiming that the U.S. has just used the “Mother of All Bombs” against an underground missile storage facility…

As the widening war in West Asia continues to intensify, unconfirmed reports from local Iranian journalists suggest that the United States may have launched one of its most powerful conventional weapons against an underground military facility in central Iran.

The US Air Force aircraft, as reports suggest, hit underground installations near the city of Qods using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, also called the “Mother of All Bombs” (MOAB). The purported strike allegedly targeted an underground missile storage complex, which is believed to be associated with Iran’s military infrastructure.

The Iranians have been claiming that they have been holding back their most powerful weapons for later use.

Instead of waiting for Iran to use them, it appears that the U.S. just tried to blow them up…

It is important to understand why the MOAB (Mother of All Bombs) may have seen its second operational use in history:

Iran was planning to manufacture around 200 missiles per month, with ambitions to ramp up production to 500. Within three years, such a facility could have produced over 10,000 missiles.

Imagine the devastating potential to terrorize Gulf states, Israel, and parts of Europe—especially as Iran developed longer-range missiles capable of reaching the mainland United States. Now, that key facility has been destroyed (“caput”).

I don’t think that this war is going to end any time soon.

The regime in Iran is still in power, they are still able to hit targets all over the Middle East with missiles and drones, and they are still able to paralyze traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

And the Iranians have absolutely no intention of giving up, because they intend to impose a very high level of pain on the United States and Israel before this is all over…

Iran believes there can be no end to the conflict until it believes Trump has been shown the economic, political and military cost is so high that it is not worth repeating.

As for Israel, it appears that regime change is still the ultimate goal.

In fact, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just told the people of Iran that once conditions are right, they will have a “once in a lifetime opportunity to remove the Ayatollah regime and gain your freedom”…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote a message on his office’s official X account on Tuesday night local time, where he addressed the people of Iran, urging them to seize what he calls a “once in a lifetime opportunity to remove the Ayatollah regime and gain your freedom”.

“The Ayatollah [Ali Khamenei] is no more, and I know you don’t want him replaced with another tyrant,” Netanyahu posted.

“So you must act. We are creating the conditions for you to do so. When the time is right, and that time is fast approaching, we will pass the torch to you. Be ready to seize the moment!”

The signal has not been given yet.

But it is coming.

Personally, I am skeptical that unarmed protesters will be able to topple the regime.

I guess that we will see.

And I think that the Iranians still have quite a few surprises up their sleeves, and that could even potentially include attacks on U.S. soil.

According to ABC News, the FBI has warned that Iran “could retaliate for American attacks by launching drones at the West Coast”…

The FBI warned police departments in California in recent days that Iran could retaliate for American attacks by launching drones at the West Coast, according to an alert reviewed by ABC News.

“We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United State Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran,” according to the alert distributed at the end of February. “We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”

The warning came just as the Trump administration launched its ongoing assault against the Islamic Republic. Iran has been retaliating with drone strikes against targets throughout the Mideast.

Can you imagine the panic that we would witness if Iranian drones started slamming into tall buildings in California?

It would be madness.

In the end, I do not believe that Iran will win this war.

But I do believe that the Iranians are fully capable of creating a tremendous amount of chaos.

We really are living in apocalyptic times, and much more mayhem is in our future.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.