Erin A. Snider

“We are forced to stay despite the danger, when we defend our land, and we do so peacefully. None of us carries weapons. All of us carry peace and goodness and love.”

These were the words of Father Pierre al-Rahi one day before Israel killed him in Lebanon today on March 9.

Link to bypass paywall: www.msn.com/en-us/money/...

The Long-Feared Persian Gulf Oil Squeeze Is Upon Us Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has ground to a virtual halt, unleashing the most severe energy crisis since the 1970s.

Excellent, depressing analysis from the WSJ. And of course, none of this had to happen.

Energy historian Daniel Yergin:"We are looking at what is by far the biggest disruption in world history in terms of daily oil production..If it goes on for weeks, it will reverberate across the global economy.”

Markets are *very* unhappy about developments in Iran.

One of the lessons of the Iran war is that it was a huge mistake not to even try to put any of the Iraq war architects in prison. We shouldn’t make it again.

State Dept. Said to Order Diplomats in Saudi Arabia to Leave

NEW: The State Dept. has ordered diplomats in Saudi Arabia to leave. It's the first mandatory ordered departure issued by the agency during the US-Israel war on Iran, and indicates US officials fear more violence. Iranian drones hit the embassy in Riyadh. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/w...

Middle East war live: Iran names Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader The 56-year-old cleric becomes the third leader of the Islamic republic after his father was killed in US-Israeli air strike

"Iran’s senior clergy have chosen Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the slain supreme leader, as his father’s successor."

I spent 22 years of my life as a consultant in marine sustainability and maritime policy. Much of what I did involved the oil industry, oil pollution and the toxic threat it posed to humans and wildlife.

This shit is liquid cancer. It will impact the development of foetuses. It will kill.

"Was the Iranian regime bad?"

And

"now that Trump started a regime change war in a country the size of Iraq and Afghanistan combined, without getting congressional approval or doing any planning at all, should we just kind of roll with it?"

Are different questions.

But you'd hardly know it.

So surprise. Much astonish.

May have ordered this today: www.etsy.com/listing/1853...

I'm so sorry for your loss.

More than 400 desalination plants are in the Gulf. More attacks on such plants would be devastating--one of the many worries running through my mind over the last few days as this war widens. 90% of Kuwait's drinking water, for ex, comes from desalination. Low's piece below is a good refresher.

State Department Bypasses Congress to Send Israel More Than 20,000 Bombs

“The State Department is declaring an emergency with the war in Iran to bypass Congressional approval and sell more than 20,000 bombs to Israel that are valued at nearly $660 million, according to two current U.S. officials and a former official.”

Opinion | The Mistake That Iranians Make About America

From Reza Aslan's essay today: "History does not always repeat itself cleanly. But it does offer warnings. And when the desire for liberation outruns memory, we risk trading one form of unaccountable power for another."

gift link below

Record pace of strikes in Iran bombing campaign: analysis U.S. and Israel hitting more targets than any previous campaign, numbers suggest

Airwars, a non-profit group tracking civilian harm in conflict, found that the initial days of the U.S.-Israeli campaign in Iran hit significantly more targets per day than any campaign in recent decades. The targets also map heavily onto the highest populated areas. airwars.org/record-pace-...

AP: Drones struck energy infrastructure and facilities of U.S. contractors in Basra in southern Iraq. The drones targeted a compound housing foreign oil company offices and warehouses, triggering fires at facilities linked to U.S. energy services firms.

Police body cam footage shows DOGE knew Institute of Peace was private property during raid Footage obtained by The Handbasket’s lawsuit shows a hostile takeover on March 17, 2025.

SCOOP — Body camera footage obtained as a result of my lawsuit against the DC Metropolitan PD confirms DOGE and the Trump administration openly admitted they were entering private property when they raided the building on March 17, 2025. That didn't stop MPD from breaking down the doors.

My report:

"A U.S. diplomat who was in the embassy when McGurk arrived found his steady advance astonishing. “Brett only meets people who speak English. … There are like four people in the government who speak English. And somehow he’s now the person who should decide the fate of Iraq? How did this happen?”"

nobody could have foreseen this result of a war in the Persian Gulf

A shock for no one, except maybe Hegseth

Gulf states could review investments due to financial strains caused by Iran war, FT reports Gulf states could start ​to review their overseas investments and future ‌commitments as they consider options to ease the pressure on their budgets following the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, the Fin...

Gulf states could start ​to review their overseas investments and future ‌commitments (ie: the billions they pledged to Trump and the US) as they consider options to ease the pressure on their budgets following the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran www.reuters.com/world/middle...

A masterpiece.

Exclusive: Iranian girls killed by ‘double-tap’ strikes on Minab school Eyewitnesses describe second blast which killed survivors as they sheltered in prayer hall

Devastating details of the strikes on the Iranian girls school:

"One of the Red Crescent medics described the scene as “unbelievable”. “We saw bodies without heads, without hands, without legs,” he said. Some parents recognised their children only because of the gold bracelets they were wearing,”

Iran war triggers aluminium supply crunch and shutdowns across Middle East Region produces 10% of global output, enough to threaten ‘repricing across base metals’ if outages continue

"The war in Iran has caused smelter closures and “force majeure” declarations across the aluminium industry in the Middle East, threatening a supply crunch in the key industrial metal with global stocks already close to historic lows."

Israel issues unprecedented evacuation notice for Beirut’s southern suburbs, home to 100s of 1000s of people #beirut #lebanon

Amberin is a journalist I trust on this beat

2 to 3 Cups of Coffee a Day May Reduce Dementia Risk. But Not if It’s Decaf.

If one needed additional reasons :)

Since we published this @timep.bsky.social explainer on how Lebanon got pulled into the war on Monday, the death toll has risen to 72 people, 437 have been injured, and the number of those officially displaced (and registered with the state) is now 83,847.

Gulf states in race to secure more US interceptors Washington’s allies in region burn through defensive munitions as they fend off Iranian barrages

"Iran’s relentless barrages are testing alliances, further exposing holes in western production capacity and underscoring the benefits — at least for now — of asymmetrical warfare, in which the west spends millions of dollars taking down projectiles made for a few thousand."