🇺🇸🇮🇷 Treasury Secretary Bessent says Iran’s oil money has completely dried up. “Think of it like a company going bankrupt that no one is going to give them money.” He says no oil has been loaded at Iran’s Kharg Island terminal since August, and that Iran has no oil out on the water right now. Kharg used to handle around 90% of Iran’s oil exports, now it’s apparently a ghost port. Writer: Daniyal

🇺🇸🇮🇷 America's next strike on Iran could put its aircraft carriers in the firing line. I spoke with former Navy SEAL Matt Bracken about reports that a third U.S. aircraft carrier and thousands of Marines are heading toward the Middle East. He sees a dangerous gamble developing. American carriers need to stay far enough from Iran to avoid its missiles. But that distance makes launching sustained airstrikes much harder, with aircraft spending more time refueling and less time attacking. Move the carriers closer, and they become more vulnerable. Bracken's biggest concern is whether Iran has developed missiles capable of tracking and striking moving warships. He doesn't know if it has, and neither side is revealing its full capabilities. But he reminded me of something worth remembering: military history is full of supposedly invulnerable weapons that suddenly weren't. Then our conversation took an unexpected turn toward Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Red Sea. Bracken believes another dangerous conflict is developing there, driven by Ethiopia's need for access to the sea, its growing control over Nile waters and rival regional alliances. What struck me is how many military flashpoints are now converging around the same shipping routes. Washington is concentrating enormous firepower near Iran while conflicts around the Red Sea threaten to become even more complicated. And Bracken fears one serious miscalculation could turn another round of strikes into something far harder to contain. @matt_bracken48

🇺🇸🇮🇷 Rubio doesn’t see a deal with Iran coming anytime soon. “Unfortunately, they don’t know how to make a deal and they’re controlled by radical Shia clerics.” He says the regime is driven by theology, which makes any deal really hard to pull off. That’s a rough sign for anyone hoping this war ends soon. Writer: Daniyal

🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran's national security chief Mohsen Rezaei has drawn an exceptionally hard line. Not one gram of enriched uranium leaves Iran. No negotiations until America starts fulfilling Tehran's conditions. Here's the problem. Washington wants Iran's nuclear stockpile reduced. Tehran insists on keeping it, including material enriched to 60%, dangerously close to weapons-grade levels. Meanwhile, Iran is demanding sanctions relief, an end to the U.S. blockade and broader regional de-escalation before talks can resume. 8 months of war, billions in damage, and the two sides still can't agree on what needs to happen before they can even sit down. Writer: Oliver