Navy Escorts for Strait of Hormuz Won't Be Ready Until April, Energy Secretary Says

Trump Strikes Kharg Island as Analysts Call Iran Campaign Incomplete but Not Failing

White House Pushes Allies to Form Strait Escort Coalition

Strait Blockade Squeezes Global Fertilizer Supply as Planting Season Nears

Trump Pressures China to Join Strait Coalition, May Delay Beijing Summit

Navy Escorts for Strait of Hormuz Won't Be Ready Until April, Energy Secretary Says

Brent crude crossed $105 per barrel — up 50% from a month ago — as most oil tankers remained unwilling to transit near the Iranian coastline. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Thursday that US military escorts for tankers through the Strait of Hormuz are not currently possible but are "quite likely" to be in place by April. Wright told CNBC that all military assets are focused on destroying Iran's offensive capabilities and the manufacturing base that supports them. Iran has attacked at least seven ships in the Persian Gulf since Wednesday, with the two most damaging strikes carried out by explosive-laden boats against the tankers Safesea Vishnu and Zefyros in Iraqi waters, killing at least one crew member and setting both vessels ablaze. About 20% of global oil shipments transit the Strait of Hormuz, and shipping through the waterway has largely stopped since the war began on Feb. 28. According to MarketWatch, just eight commercial transits were recorded Tuesday — down from an average of 153 ships per day before the conflict — most with links to Iran or China.

New York Post / MarketWatch / CSIS

Trump Strikes Kharg Island as Analysts Call Iran Campaign Incomplete but Not Failing

President Trump announced that US Central Command carried out a massive bombing raid on Kharg Island, the hub of Iran's oil exports, destroying every military target on the island while deliberately sparing its oil infrastructure. The island handles 80% to 90% of Iran's oil exports, and Trump warned on Truth Social that he would reconsider sparing the facilities if Iran or anyone else interferes with free passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The White House had considered a ground operation to seize the island as one of several Pentagon options ahead of the war, and the strike was described as a signal to Tehran to stop closing the strait. Separately, the Institute for the Study of War released a special report concluding that the military trajectory is relatively positive for the United States, with US forces steadily degrading Iran's ability to employ drone and missile attacks — the tools that underpin Tehran's broader strategy. Iran continues to fire drones and missiles, though the overall attack rate is slowly decreasing, and its strikes have caused neither operationally significant damage nor widespread casualties among US forces. The ISW cautioned that the campaign remains incomplete and it is too soon to forecast its outcome, but stated that declaring it an operational failure is unquestionably premature.

Axios / ISW

White House Pushes Allies to Form Strait Escort Coalition

President Trump and top aides spent the weekend framing the Iran operation as a military success while pressing other countries to help resolve the worsening energy crisis tied to the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration plans to announce as soon as this week that multiple countries have agreed to form a coalition to escort ships through the waterway, according to US officials. The United States and potential coalition partners are still discussing whether escort operations would begin before or after the war ends. The White House declined to comment on the expected announcement, which could shift depending on battlefield conditions.

Wall Street Journal

Strait Blockade Squeezes Global Fertilizer Supply as Planting Season Nears

Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are threatening global fertilizer supply chains as farmers in the United States and other importing nations enter critical planting windows, according to Corey Rosenbusch, CEO of the Fertilizer Institute. About 40% of all urea — a key nitrogen fertilizer used worldwide — must pass through the strait, and dozens of loaded vessels are currently unable to get through. Rosenbusch told The National News Desk that US farmers are contending with very low commodity prices and that planting season is a narrow window of a few months in which fertilizer is critical to getting crops started. He said most US farmers committed to fertilizer needs in advance and that much of the supply is already in domestic inventory, but the remaining 20% to 25% of US supply has not yet arrived and must still be imported. The US fertilizer industry estimates it needs about two million more metric tons of urea to meet domestic spring demand, and some American growers are scrambling — particularly those who did not make prior commitments. Rosenbusch said fertilizer contributes to roughly half of crop yields, though that figure varies by crop and region, and that there are limited alternatives.

The National News Desk

Trump Pressures China to Join Strait Coalition, May Delay Beijing Summit

President Trump told the Financial Times that China should help keep the Strait of Hormuz open, arguing that the waterway is far more vital to Beijing and Europe than to the United States given their dependence on Persian Gulf oil. Trump said it is appropriate for countries that benefit from the strait to help ensure safe passage through it — a direct appeal to draw China into the US-led coalition effort to escort commercial shipping. He also said he may delay his planned Beijing summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, originally scheduled for March 31 through April 2, without specifying the length of any postponement. Trump had accepted Xi's invitation to visit Beijing following a trade truce reached last fall and had invited the Chinese leader for a reciprocal state visit later this year.

Financial Times

March 16 2008: Bear Stearns collapses, sold to J.P. Morgan Chase

Bear Stearns seemed to be riding high with a stock market capitalization of $20 billion in early 2007. But its increasing involvement in the hedge-fund business, particularly with risky mortgage-backed securities, paved the way for it to become one of the earliest casualties of the subprime mortgage crisis that led to the Great Recession.

Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below:

citizen journal offers three flagship products: a daily national news summary, a daily Kansas news summary, and local news and school board summaries from 34 cities across 5 states. Use the links in the header to navigate to national, kansas, and local coverage. Subscribe to each, some, or all to get an email when new issues are published for FREE!

Brought to you by (click me!)

Sources

1. New York Post / MarketWatch / CSIS
2. Axios / ISW via X
3. Wall Street Journal
4. The National News Desk
5. Financial Times