Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The effectiveness of vaccines against influenza dropped during the 2025–2026 virus season, officials said on March 12, about two months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stopped recommending flu vaccination for all children.

Vaccine effectiveness for late 2025 and early 2026 against outpatient visits and hospitalization was pegged at 14 percent to 48 percent among children, Dr. Lisa Grohskopf, with the CDC’s Influenza Division, said at a meeting hosted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The shielding among adults was just 22 percent to 34 percent, she said, based on data from CDC networks in 16 states.

Influenza vaccine effectiveness since 2009 has dropped as low as 19 percent and risen as high as 60 percent. It was 56 percent in late 2024 and early 2025, according to the CDC.

Grohskopf said the reasons for the decline from the prior season are not yet clear. Factors could include that fewer people received vaccines and a mismatch between strains in the vaccines and the strains that ended up circulating.

Most influenza cases in recent months have been caused by influenza A viruses, particularly an H3N2 subvariant called subclade K.

Grohskopf said the data are preliminary and could end up changing.

William Gruner, representing Department of War scientists, said at the same meeting that vaccine effectiveness among department networks against influenza-like illness from Nov. 9, 2025, through Feb. 21, 2026, was 32 percent among children and 46 percent among adults.

“Still a lot more data to be collected this season, so things can certainly change,” Gruner said.

They presented to the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee during the largely virtual meeting.

Dr. Hayley Gans, a committee member, said she was concerned that the estimates were inaccurate.

“I think this data doesn’t support at least for what we see in pediatrics,” she told Grohskopf.

She also expressed a desire to see a wider population included in the CDC networks.

Gans later said to Gruner: “I just think that when people hear these rates of vaccine efficacy … we just have to be careful how that is sort of interpreted. These are largely efficacious to at least severe disease, at least in pediatrics, the ones that we see that are hospitalized largely fall in the undervaccinated group.

“There is some efficacy that we’re not capturing in all this data that we’re presenting.”

The committee later unanimously voted to advise the FDA to have vaccine manufacturers move forward with updated influenza shots that target two influenza A viruses, including a component targeting H3N2. The composition they recommended is the same that the World Health Organization recommended in February.

Global authorities typically release updated strain recommendations once or twice a year in a bid to improve the effectiveness of flu vaccines by trying to predict which strains will be circulating in the future.

Dr. David Kaslow, director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review, told committee members that the FDA appreciated their recommendation and discussion as officials try to figure out how to develop more effective seasonal influenza vaccines.

The CDC had for years advised virtually all Americans to receive an annual flu vaccination, but in January, with backing from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., it stated that children should receive a flu shot only after they and their parents consult with doctors and take into account the risks and benefits of the vaccines.

“The primary purpose of the childhood influenza vaccine in children is to reduce hospitalizations and mortality in children, as well as transmission to the elderly, who are of higher risk for death, but there are no randomized controlled trials demonstrating these benefits,” the CDC’s acting director at the time, Jim O’Neill, said in a memorandum explaining the decision.

Authors of a 2018 Cochrane Collaboration review said data showed that there was moderate certainty that influenza vaccines reduce flu infections among children. They also reported an inability to assess effectiveness against hospitalization due to a lack of data.

A different review published in 2025 said that influenza vaccines shield children against hospitalization.

The CDC said on its website in early March that seasonal flu activity remains elevated nationally, causing an estimated 26 million illnesses, 340,000 hospitalizations, and 21,000 deaths. It said that vaccination “has been shown to reduce the risk of flu and its potentially serious complications,” and it noted that several antiviral drugs are available for those who do contract the flu.

*  *  *

Authored by Rob Sabo via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A reassessment of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., corporate electric vehicle (EV) strategy and planned cancellation of three EV models for the North American market could lead to losses totaling approximately $15.7 billion for its fiscal year ending March 31, the company said in a news release on March 12.

It would be the first time Honda has posted an annual loss since its shares were first listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1957.

Honda said it initiated a strategic shift in its manufacturing plans towards electrification due to major policy changes in the United States that pushed for widespread adoption of EVs—especially in smaller passenger vehicles—as a long-term solution for reaching carbon neutrality.

“Honda had been making steady progress in pursuit of EV adoption by leveraging its stable earnings base provided by existing gasoline and hybrid vehicle business based on technologies and know-how amassed through the development of hybrid models over many years,” the Tokyo-based automobile manufacturer said.

However, Honda said it was forced to reexamine its automobile electrification strategy due to recent changes in the EV business environment that led to declining profitability. Honda reported a near 50-percent year-over-year decline in operating profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, due to heavy losses in its EV business segment and the impacts of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

Honda also cited economic pressure in Chinese and other Asian markets from new EV manufacturers making software-laden vehicles that are more in line with shifting consumer demand. The expiration of a $7,500 federal tax credit on the purchase of new electric vehicles on Sept. 30, 2025, also led to a significant reduction in consumer demand for EVs in the United States, Honda noted.

“Honda pursued EV adoption with strong determination that striving for carbon neutrality is a responsibility Honda, as a [manufacturer] of mobility products, must fulfill for the future. However, in the U.S., the expansion of the EV market has slowed down due to several factors including the easing of fossil fuel regulations and revisions to EV incentives,” the Japanese automaker said.

Honda said it now will cancel the planned development and market launch of the Honda 0 sport utility vehicle and 0 Saloon, as well as the Acura RSX. Honda unveiled two prototype models of its 0 series lineup at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2025.

“Honda automobile business has fallen into an extremely challenging earnings situation due to various factors, including its inability to respond flexibly to these changes in the business environment, compounded by a decline in the profitability of gasoline and hybrid models due to the impact of newly imposed tariffs,” Honda said.

Shares of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. were down nearly 6 percent in intraday trading. Honda’s stock has fallen more than 22 percent over the past six months.

Honda’s EV woes are shared by other automobile manufacturers. In December, Ford Motor Company said it would take a $19.5 billion writedown after discontinuing several EV models due to waning demand.

For years Democrats argued that “Antifa” is not a real organization; rather, they claim it is a set of ideals with no concrete membership.  This illusory definition of the movement is quite deliberate in that it is designed to protect Antifa members from being defined as terrorists or facing direct consequences for their actions.  

Legal questions have been growing over the use of federal terrorism laws against leftist activists.  Democrats claim they’re engaging in constitutionally protected civil protest – rationale used justify attacks on ICE agents during the execution of deportations.  It was also used extensively as legal grounds for violence and property destruction during the BLM riots.

Now, there’s been a conviction.

On Friday, nine defendants accused of being part of a North Texas “Antifa Cell” were convicted by a federal jury in Fort Worth. The incident in question took place on July 4th, 2025, at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas – where anti-ICE protests functioned as cover for the vandalization of government property (vehicles, guard shack, security cameras), the use if exploding fireworks at the facility, and the shooting of a police officer.

The nine defendants faced a total of 65 charges that included attempted murder, aiding terrorists, and weapons charges. Those supporting the defendants have called those charges “outrageous”, saying the defendants were there protesting ICE and that the government has gone overboard to send a message.

The most serious charge (attempted murder, on which group member Benjamin Song was convicted) was against an Alvarado police lieutenant (Lt. Thomas Gross), a local law enforcement officer who responded to the scene after a 911 call. He was ambushed and shot in the neck by gunfire from a wooded area as he exited his vehicle (he survived). 

Shots were fired toward responding officers and possibly toward the facility/guards, but no reports confirm any ICE agents (as in deportation/enforcement officers) were directly shot or injured.  Leftists on social media are already calling for violence against the jury who convicted their “comrades”. 

The attack is only one among a long list of Anti-ICE operations by activists over the past year, many of them involving efforts to maim or kill ICE agents.    

It should be noted that the establishment media nearly buried this story and it has only gained widespread attention due to the trial.  There has been a concerted effort by progressive news outlets to run cover for Antifa and Anti-ICE protest groups; often deliberately minimizing violence and blaming agents when they use force to respond. 

NGO funded protesters often rely on agitation tactics, provocation and sabotage to trigger police and political opponents into using physical force.  They then hold up these incidents as “proof that they are being oppressed and their rights are being violated.  Often referred to as DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim & Offender), the political left strategy relies on negative public optics to disrupt otherwise lawful government policies. 

The Texas case goes far beyond DARVO and into the realm of open insurgency.  It is perhaps the first real attempt by the federal government to punish an Antifa group under terrorism laws.  Leftists argue that the convictions will lead to federal violations of free speech rights, but these are the same people that believe violence against anyone they label “fascist” is a form of free speech.              

Via The Cradle

Iran is considering allowing a “limited number” of oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on the condition that the oil cargo is traded in Chinese yuan, CNN has reported.

A senior Iranian official told the US news outlet that Tehran is working on a new plan to manage tanker traffic through the strategic waterway on Iran’s southern coast.

Iran has effectively sealed off the strait, allowing only its own and Chinese ships to pass. Before the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, at least 20 percent of the world’s oil flowed through it.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it will attack vessels linked to “aggressor nations,” such as the Gulf states that allow the US and Israel to use their territory for attacks on the Islamic Republic. The IRGC announced that the world should prepare for oil prices “reaching $200.”

For decades, most international oil has been traded in US dollars. The earnings from oil sales by Gulf countries, known as “petrodollars,” were mostly reinvested into the US economy through the purchase of sovereign bonds issued by the US Treasury.

Since Washington imposed economic sanctions on Moscow in 2022 following the start of the war in Ukraine, sanctioned Russian oil has increasingly been sold in rubles.

For years, China has used a covert, barter-style financial system to help pay Iran for oil, circumventing US sanctions. The system allows Iran to ship crude oil to China, while Chinese state-owned firms carry out infrastructure projects in Iran as payment.

Two tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) passed through the Strait of Hormuz early Saturday morning and are heading towards India, according to an Indian foreign ministry official speaking with CNN.

Iran’s ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, told India Today that Iran allowed Indian vessels to travel through the strait, without providing details of how they obtained permission.

India heavily depends on imported LPG and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from West Asia. The South Asian nation has experienced shortages of both fuels since the US-Israeli conflict with Iran started two weeks ago.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday, CNN noted.  During the conversation, Modi reiterated that the “unhindered transit of goods and energy” remained one of India’s top priorities.

The UN has warned that restrictions on shipping through the strait could have dire effects on the world economy, including on food production.

“When ships stop moving ⁠through that Strait, the consequences travel fast,” said Tom Fletcher, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs.

“Food, medicine, fertilizer, and other supplies become harder ⁠to move ‌and more ⁠expensive to deliver,” he added.

Along with surging oil prices, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused fertilizer costs to rise by up to a third. If the strait remains closed, reduced fertilizer use could lead to lower harvests and potential food shortages worldwide in the coming year.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is urging Albany to consider a sweeping overhaul of New York’s estate tax, proposing to sharply lower the exemption threshold and dramatically increase the top rate on large inheritances. His plan would cut the exemption from more than $7 million to $750,000 while boosting the highest tax rate from 16 percent to 50 percent, Bloomberg reported. 

The idea was included in a policy memo his administration recently shared with state lawmakers as they negotiate the state budget, according to NY Focus.

The estate tax proposal is one of several revenue measures Mamdani’s office has floated as the city prepares for a significant budget gap. New York City is projecting a $5.4 billion deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1, and the mayor is asking state officials to help identify new sources of funding to help close the shortfall.

Among the other proposals is a narrower package of business tax increases aimed specifically at companies operating in the city. The administration estimates those changes could generate about $1.75 billion annually. Under the plan, the city’s corporate tax rate would rise to 10.8 percent for financial firms and to 10.62 percent for other corporations, while the tax on large unincorporated businesses would increase modestly for firms earning more than $5 million.

Mamdani is also proposing to scale back the Pass-Through Entity Tax credit, which currently allows certain business owners to use company tax payments to fully offset what they owe in personal income taxes. Limiting that credit to 75 percent of its value would produce roughly $700 million a year, according to city estimates. The mayor continues to advocate for raising the local income tax rate on residents earning more than $1 million annually, a measure projected to bring in about $3 billion each year.

The report says that several ideas in the memo target high-end real estate transactions and ownership. They include a one percent surcharge on homes valued above $5 million, a one percent tax on cash-only property purchases exceeding $1 million, and a broader version of the existing mansion tax on luxury home sales. Combined, these changes could generate roughly $1.2 billion in additional annual revenue. Mamdani has also backed eliminating the sales-tax exemption on gold bullion and similar precious metals, which city officials estimate would produce about $300 million for the city each year.

Despite the aggressive estate tax proposal, it appears unlikely to gain traction in the current budget negotiations. Neither chamber of the state legislature has included it in their spending plans, and Governor Kathy Hochul did not incorporate it into her own budget proposal. Lawmakers in both the Senate and Assembly have, however, endorsed separate plans that would increase income and corporate taxes.

Longer-term fiscal pressures are also shaping the debate. Mark Levine has warned that New York City could face cumulative deficits of at least $28 billion over the next four fiscal years, suggesting that state and city officials may continue exploring tax increases and other revenue measures in the years ahead.

As we wrote just hours ago, Moody’s changed its outlook on New York City’s credit rating to negative while keeping its Aa2 rating in place, citing growing concerns about sizable and persistent projected budget deficits that suggest a structural imbalance in the city’s finances and reduced fiscal flexibility.

The shift follows updated spending projections showing larger gaps than previously expected, with the city needing to close at least a $5.4 billion deficit across this year and next as expenses continue to rise faster than revenues. New York’s $127 billion budget also relies on using its rainy-day fund, potentially limiting its ability to manage a future economic downturn.

Moody’s decision signals that a formal downgrade could follow in the coming months if the city fails to address its widening fiscal gaps.

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

Some U.S. pharmacies are scrambling to fill estradiol transdermal patch prescriptions as demand for the menopause treatment continues to soar following the Trump administration’s decision to remove what it determined was an outdated cancer warning.

“Manufacturers have been unable to provide sufficient supply of hormone replacement therapies [HRT] over the last several weeks,” CVS pharmacy spokeswoman Roslyn Guarino told The Epoch Times March 9.

In November, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) started the process of removing the so-called “black box warning” from estrogen and estrogen-progesterone replacement therapy added in 2003, ending more than two decades of fear that the treatments increased risk of breast cancer.

As a result, estradiol transdermal patch prescriptions have increased by about 86 percent since 2021, according to the latest study by Epic Research.

CVS pharmacies—the largest U.S. chain—are working with patients to make sure they have access to their medications when the interruptions occur, Guarino said.

Sandoz and Amneal Biosciences, two major producers of estradiol transdermal patches for the U.S. market, listed 10 transdermal patch products currently affected by the shortage. Neither manufacturer gave reasons for the shortages.

Sandoz said the company takes the current supply situation “very seriously” and is making adjustments to meet the demand.

“Recent changes in prescribing behavior due to the FDA’s removal of boxed warnings on HRT patches have created an unprecedented demand that cannot be fully met at present,” Sandoz spokeswoman Jeanne LaCour told The Epoch Times in an email.

“We know this situation is frustrating and inconvenient for the women who rely on these patches. As a global leader in affordable medicines, Sandoz cares deeply about the well-being and health of the women who rely on these treatments. We are working on increasing global capacity to ensure adequate supply of HRT transdermal patches and to support continuity of treatment for patients around the world.

“In the interim, to help women in the U.S. specifically, we have allocated additional quantities to the States to better meet the increase in demand,” LaCour added.

Amneal Biosciences did not immediately return a request for comment.

Viatris, Noven, and Zydus had available product, according to the latest report.

“For more than two decades, bad science and bureaucratic inertia have resulted in women and physicians having an incomplete view of [hormone replacement therapy],” U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said in a statement about the decision.

“We are returning to evidence-based medicine and giving women control over their health again.”

The warning was preventing millions of women from receiving the life-changing and long-term health benefits of hormone replacement therapy, according to FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.

Studies show that women who start the therapy within 10 years of the onset of menopause, usually before the age of 60, can reduce all-cause mortality and bone fractures. They may also lessen the risk of heart disease by half, and Alzheimer’s disease by a third, the FDA reported.

The president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Dr. Steven Fleischman, applauded the decision to remove the black box warning, saying the organization has long advocated for its removal on low-dose vaginal estrogen because of the barrier it posed for people who suffered from menopause symptoms.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.in Washington on Jan. 7, 2026. Alex Wong/Getty Images

“ACOG commends the HHS leadership for improving the lives of perimenopausal women by making the estrogen products they need more accessible to them,” Fleishman said. “The modifications to certain warning labels for estrogen products are years in the making, reflecting the dedicated advocacy of physicians and patients across the country. The updated labels will better allow patients and clinicians to engage in a shared decision-making process without an unnecessary barrier, when it comes to treatment of menopausal symptoms.”

Dr. Sharon Winer, a reproductive endocrinologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said patients should be cautious about the decision.

“The FDA ruling gives clinicians and patients space to individualize care, but it’s not a license to assume [menopause hormone therapy] is universally beneficial,” Winer said. “The FDA’s action is progress, but it doesn’t mean [menopause hormone therapy] will solve every aging-related concern. There’s a lot we still don’t know.”

The Department of War is reportedly building a 30-person investment banking team, called the “Economic Defense Unit,” to deploy $200 billion in private equity over three years into defense companies and, more importantly, war unicorns, as the race to secure the Western Hemisphere and counter China, Russia, and Iran intensifies in the Trump era.

Seamfor reviewed a slide deck from the headhunting firm Heidrick & Struggles that says DoW is seeking to stack EDU with bankers from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Bank of America.

The presentation pitches bankers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to “serve your country” and deploy “more capital than most investors deploy in their entire careers,” as well as an opportunity to sell a large amount of stock tax-deferred.

Seamfor noted that EDU will report to former Cerebrus alums David Lorch and George K. Kollitides II, the former Remington CEO who is now a partner at private equity firm Alvarez & Marsal Capital. 

Heidrick & Struggles’ deck also promises bankers “unmatched access to top-level government officials and privileged information flow—whatever you need, you can get.”

Finance influencer High Yield Harry published on X what he claims is the deck that headhunters sent to investment bankers.

Intro

Situation Background

Situation Background

The Mission

The Investment Team

Value Proposition

Managing Director Candidates

Vice President Candidates

Associate Candidates

The Trump administration has invested in a handful of companies critical to the survival of the US, from Intel to MP Materials to L3Harris Missile Solutions to USA Rare Earth, Trilogy Metals / Upper Kobuk Minerals Project, and soon a whole bunch of war unicorns (read here).

Authored by John R. Lott Jr. via RealClearPolitics,

Gun control advocates do not just oppose civilian gun ownership; they also argue that guns in the hands of police make people less safe.

In January, a Border Patrol agent in Portland shot and wounded two Venezuelan nationals who belonged to the violent Tren de Aragua gang after they allegedly tried to run agents over with their vehicle. In response, Kris Brown, president of Brady United, tweeted the following:

“We don’t know the details behind the shootings of 2 people by a Border Patrol agent in Portland. But I know one thing for certain: whether in the hands of federal officers or everyday Americans, guns do not make us safer. Yet Trump is reshaping our country based on this lie.”

What were the Border Patrol agents supposed to do when an illegal alien with a criminal record tries to run over an agent? How are unarmed agents supposed to apprehend and detain violent gang members?

Currently on its website, Brady United explains: “Why Police violence is gun violence … As we work to tackle the gun violence epidemic in America, we cannot ignore police violence or its devastating effects.”

The same claim is made repeatedly by other gun control groups.

“Police violence is gun violence and that’s why our movement must be responsive as well,” declares Shannon Watts, president for Moms Demand Action.

“Police violence is gun violence,” proclaims Gabby Giffords, with the Giffords Law Center.

These last two statements are from 2021 and 2020, so their opposition to police having guns isn’t a new focus.

Gun control groups sometimes openly acknowledge their goal of banning all guns. In a 2023 interview with Time magazine, for example, Gabby Giffords – who heads the Giffords Law Center – answered a question about her goal by saying: “No more guns.” When the interviewer asked whether she meant no more gun violence, Giffords clarified: “No, no, no. Lord, no. Guns, guns, guns. No more guns. Gone.”

Time magazine itself treated the remark as significant enough to place Giffords’ line – “No more guns, Gone” – in the headline.

If firearms are bad per se, it should be easy to find places where either all guns or all handguns have been banned and murder/homicide rates have gone down. One would think out of randomness there should be at least one place where murder rates have gone down or at least stayed the same, but every single time, even for island nations, murder rates have gone up immediately after the ban.

A simple logic is at play here: Who is most likely to obey the law? While such statutes may take a few guns from criminals, they primarily disarm the most law-abiding citizens, making it easier for criminals to commit crimes.

Similar problems exist for police. Taking away the guns that both civilians and police have doesn’t mean that criminals will readily forfeit their weapons. Criminals have strong incentives to keep and obtain weapons. Drug gangs can’t go to the police and ask for help to get their drugs back when another gang steals their drugs. The gangs have set up their own little paramilitaries to protect their valuable stash.

Gun control advocates point to the low murder rate in the United Kingdom, with its largely unarmed police forces, as evidence that disarming police can make people safer. But they ignore that the U.K. had an even lower homicide rate relative to the U.S. before they enacted strict gun controls, and that after a 1997 handgun ban, Britain experienced increases in homicide rates.

Gun control advocates often frame their proposals as modest steps to reduce violence, but their own statements often reveal a far broader goal. The evidence from places that have banned guns also shows a troubling pattern: Disarming the law-abiding does not disarm criminals. If we want to reduce crime and protect the public, policies must focus on stopping criminals – not on leaving both citizens and police defenseless.

John R. Lott Jr. is a contributor to RealClearInvestigations, focusing on voting and gun rights. His articles have appeared in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, USA Today, and Chicago Tribune. Lott is an economist who has held research and/or teaching positions at the University of Chicago, Yale University, Stanford, UCLA, Wharton, and Rice.

Summary:

• US strikes on Kharg Island escalate war as Trump claims allies sending warships to Hormuz: Trump said US forces “obliterated” military targets on Kharg Island but warned Iran’s critical oil infrastructure could be the.

• Iran vows bigger regional retaliation: IRGC warned the UAE that US “hideouts” there are now “legitimate targets”; UAE oil port hit, and US Embassy in Baghdad catches fire after apparent drone strike.

• Heavy casualties and explosions in Iran ongoing: US-Israeli strikes have killed about 1,450 people in Iran since February 28, while “huge blasts” were reported in central Tehran after mass rallies where some Iranian leaders walked the streets in defiance.

• Oil war and extreme risk unfolds, US gas prices up: disrupted Hormuz shipping and ongoing chaos has driven US gasoline prices up 23%

• Lebanon ground and air Israel-Hezbollah war: Major Israeli strikes in Lebanon, especially on Beirut have killed at least 826 people.

• Trump rejected efforts by Middle Eastern allies to hold talks aimed at ending the war in Iran, according to Reuters.

• Oman attempted several times to open a line of communication, but the US administration has made clear it’s not interested.

• Iran rejects the possibility of a ceasefire until strikes end.

• UAE suspended loading operations at a key energy export hub after a drone strike and fire on Saturday.

• Iran threatened to reduce US-linked oil facilities to a pile of ashes. 

* * *

Update(1358ET):

The semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that U.S.-based Citibank branches in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain’s capital, Manama, were targeted by drones overnight, suggesting that civilian infrastructure has not been spared in the U.S.-Iran conflict.

From data centers to skyscrapers to water desalination plants, it now appears that IRGC drone strikes are spilling over into Gulf financial infrastructure. Tasnim reported that some banks pulled staff from buildings, shifted operations remotely, and that Citibank temporarily suspended certain in-person activities in the UAE.

A Missile/drone has reportedly struck the Dubai office of Citibank, one of the largest US financial institutions operating in the Persian Gulf

Follow https://t.co/B3zXG73Jym pic.twitter.com/6xyzhUvNW9

— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) March 14, 2026

Tasnim noted that Citi is a major node in the dollar system, especially in the Gulf region, where it handles oil trade finance, dollar settlements, and services for sovereign wealth funds and multinational corporations.

* * *

Update(1255ET): While it’s unclear whether this is born of desperation or it’s “all part of the plan”…President Trump said Saturday he wants other countries to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz alongside the United States to break Iran’s chokehold on one of the globe’s most critical oil arteries.

Posting on Truth Social Saturday, he claimed that other countries “will be sending War Ships” to the region – then added he “hopefully” expects major economies to step in; however, there doesn’t appear to be any ‘help’ on the horizon. In fact it could be the opposite, after Italy’s Meloni declared her country “won’t be part of an illegal war”. 

“Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated,” Trump wrote. But he also simultaneously made clear the US is not waiting around:

“In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water,” he said. “One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!”

Despite declaring that “100% of Iran’s Military capability” has been destroyed, Trump warned Tehran could still create chaos in the narrow passage – as is indeed still playing out Saturday. This after overnight the key oil export hub of Kharg Island was heavily bombed (see below).

“It would be easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are,” Trump stated further. He’s also claimed the US Navy will begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz “very soon” – at a moment a Marine Expeditionary Force is en route from Japan, which could take a week or less.

I would say burning ports and refineries in the Gulf today suggest that 100% of Iran’s military capability has not been destroyed. https://t.co/7CG7WGIdzh

— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) March 14, 2026

And the below was only from a day prior…

Guys, relax, the only risk in transiting the Strait of Hormuz is that Iran will shoot a missile at your ship. Otherwise it’s open for transit.

An all-time quote from our Secretary of War. pic.twitter.com/kwQ5Ij84KT

— Ryan Petersen (@typesfast) March 13, 2026

* * *

In what could prove to be a major step up the escalation ladder in the two-week-old US-Israeli war on Iran, President Trump on Friday evening (notably after US market closure) announced that US Central Command had carried out a major bombing raid on Kharg Island, which handles upwards of 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports. Importantly, Iran has previously warned that an attack on the island would cross a red line, and precipitate Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure up and down the Persian Gulf.  

Perhaps with that previous Iran warning in mind — and to allay the fears of US allies in the region who don’t want to see their energy facilities go up in smoke — Trump emphasized that the attack was focused on military assets: 

“Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island.

Our Weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated that the World has ever known but, for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island. However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision.” 

Iran’s FARS news agency confirmed the attack, saying at least 15 explosions were heard as it unfolded. FARS reports that targets included air defense assets, a naval base, an airport control tower and a helicopter hangar associated with Iranian Offshore Oil Company. The Trump administration released video highlights from the bombing raid: 

Footage has now been published by President Donald J. Trump showing today’s strikes against Iranian military targets on Kharg Island in the Northern Persian Gulf, which acts as a port hub for the export of up to 90% of oil products leaving Iran. In the footage, strikes can be… pic.twitter.com/WH3iWw74sE

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 14, 2026

Trump’s threat to “reconsider” the decision not to damage the energy infrastructure on the island if Iran continues to shut down the Strait of Hormuz will surely cause deep concern among Gulf allies and everyone else who’s wary of the looming global economic catastrophe that will unfold if the Persian Gulf energy shutdown persists.

* * *

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* * *

With Iran apparently bent on imposing a devastating cost for the US-Israeli war — one that will deter future attacks — there’s little reason to think Tehran is going signal “all clear” on the strait anytime soon. 

Five miles long and situated 15 to 20 miles off the mainland-Iranian coast, Kharg Island is essential to Iran’s export of petroleum. Facilities there have continued to operate throughout the war, with at least 10 tankers hauling off nearly 19 million barrels since the US-Israeli surprise attack on Feb 28. Iran has, however, sought to add a small measure of export-facility diversification, by reopening energy exports at the Jask terminal, which is southeast of the Straight of Hormuz, in the Gulf of Oman.     

Earlier on Friday, Trump said the US Navy would shortly begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, telling reporters, “It will happen soon, very soon.”  A few hours after his Kharg Island announcement, Trump reiterated his latest war-justification that centers on Iran’s supposed schemes for regional conquest, posting that “Iran had plans of taking over the entire Middle East, and completely obliterating Israel. JUST LIKE IRAN ITSELF, THOSE PLANS ARE NOW DEAD!” 

The administration has reportedly contemplated seizing Kharg Island. Given its close proximity to the Iranian mainland — which is teeming with drones, cruise missiles and weapon-bearing speedboats — landing a strike force on the island and then occupying it could come at a high casualty rate.

On Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved a CENTCOM request for a Marine expeditionary unit to be deployed to the theater of operations. This would typically comprise some 5,000 Marines and sailors on several ships. 

Iranian armed forces statement in response to Trump’s threat to attack oil infrastructure on Kharg Island (published by Iranian state media) pic.twitter.com/8J40dzIE7C

— Steve Lookner (@lookner) March 14, 2026

Some speculation on Trump White House’s thinking regarding this ultra-risky Kharg Island gambit (or what might eventually prove a point of no return) via Jim Bianco:

Recognizing that this could freak out oil markets, they announced it on Friday evening to give markets 48 hours to digest the news. Trump also made it explicit that oil infrastructure would be next if Iran did not allow ships to pass freely through the Strait of Hormuz.

In football terms, they’re throwing a Hail Mary pass now, hoping it works. They don’t have any more time on the clock. Oil markets and the world economy cannot wait weeks or months for the military to open the Strait. Further, I could envision political advisors suggesting that if oil prices are destined to hit $200 without this action, it might as well happen next week, giving six months to bring them down before the midterm elections.

For now, though, all eyes are on Iran, and whether its leaders view a Kharg Island attack that was confined to military targets as within the red-line boundary — or if energy assets across the region will soon be beset by drone swarms and ballistic-missile barrages, sending oil and gas prices rocketing higher. 

Palantir CEO Alex Karp delivered an apocalyptic warning to progressives, particularly “highly educated, often female voters, who vote mostly Democrat,” stating that their influence over the economy and broader society will erode as technologies such as artificial intelligence transfer power to working-class, right-leaning men.

“This technology disrupts humanities-trained, largely Democratic voters, and makes their economic power less. And increases the economic power of vocationally trained, working-class, often male, working-class voters,” Karp told CNBC hosts on Thursday.

He continued, “And so these disruptions are gonna disrupt every aspect of our society. And to make this work, we have to come to an agreement of what it is we’re going to do with the technology; how are we gonna explain to people who are likely gonna have less good, and less interesting jobs.”

Karp, whose software company builds surveillance and defense products for the U.S. government, is essentially saying that AI will shift economic power away from highly educated, so-called “woke Karens” and toward working-class, often right-leaning male voters.

He then shifted the conversation toward military uses of AI, admitting that these technologies are “dangerous” while claiming that Palantir will enable an American future.

“These technologies are dangerous societally,” Karp said, adding, “The only justification you could possibly have would be that if we don’t do it, our adversaries will do it. And we will be subject to their rule of law.… Why is it that we’re absorbing the risk of disrupting the very fabric of our society, including the most powerful parts of our society, if it’s not because it’s about maintaining our ability to be American in the near term and long term?”

The CEO of Palantir just said the quiet part out loud.
Alex Karp — whose company builds surveillance and defense technology for the U.S. government — just openly stated that AI will deliberately shift economic power away from highly educated, often female, Democratic-leaning… pic.twitter.com/mqznkz4V90

— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) March 12, 2026

Karp’s view is that AI will restructure the American class system and shift the balance of economic power. That’s one way to present the AI narrative to the everyday person.