Topic
Armed confrontation and diplomacy involving states and armed movements across the Middle East, including Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Yemen and the Gulf states.
Brent crude fell 11 cents to $104.61 a barrel on Monday as Trump announced Russian diesel supply and an energy ceasefire that Russia has not commented on. The diesel is small against global demand and the truce is unverified, so the relief looks shallow.
Reality
Adm. Brad Cooper says the US military supported the transit of a billion barrels of oil in two months, about 16 million a day, and that Iran exported none, while monitors put Hormuz traffic well below prewar.
Reality
The bloc's leaders adopted a Middle East paragraph that assigns responsibility to no country, and both Iran and the UAE signed it four months after their foreign ministers could not agree on any text at all.
Reality
A projectile hit a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on September 12-13, according to a UKMTO advisory, and on the worst days since the conflict began the corridor has carried two million barrels instead of twenty. Brent is above $100.
Reality
US and Middle Eastern officials told the Wall Street Journal that Iran is putting ballistic missiles together from components held underground, at output below prewar levels. The Trump administration says Iran's capabilities are sharply weakened.
Reality