World, US, Culture, Market, and Sci-Tech News Aggregation from MSM and Independent News
Spain pushes China to assume global leadership role during Iran war– www.washingtonexaminer.com
News Source
EXCERPT:
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday pushed China to embrace a larger role on the world stage as Europe increasingly turns to Beijing amid growing tensions with the United States.
Sanchez’s speech at Beijing’s Tsinghua University follows recent moves from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and others to tighten ties with China after the Trump administration redefined its relationship with Europe, leading many allies to question Washington’s commitment to long-standing alliances.
On the day before he is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Sanchez pushed back against the notion that Europe holds little value and called on China to help fill what he described as a new power vacuum left by the U.S.
“Europe may seem small on a map. But its weight is decisive, and its unity is a guarantee of stability and prosperity in the world, a world that cannot be understood without China,” Sanchez said. “We are called upon to understand one another and to cooperate.”
“Europe will also have to redouble its efforts, especially now that the United States has decided to withdraw from many of these fronts,” he added.
Poll Shows Massive Support for Trump’s Goals in Iran, but Concern About How Conflict Is Going – RedState– redstate.com
News Source
EXCERPT:
As the U.S. blocking of the Strait of Hormuz begins Monday morning, a new CBS -YouGov poll showed Sunday that the American public overwhelmingly backs President Trump’s goals in the Iran conflict and his vow to never let the Islamic Republic obtain nuclear weapons.
Oil Tankers Rush to The US For American Oil As Negotiations Fail to Open the Strait of Hormuz– townhall.com
News Source
EXCERPT:
As the remnants of the Iranian regime continue to block the Strait of Hormuz, countries around the world are reportedly turning to the United States for oil, as tankers flood the Gulf of America to purchase American oil.
This is the Gulf of America, packed with supertankers racing to load up on US oil.
Record exports.
Global energy demand is shifting directly to 🇺🇸
Economic boom incoming.
Paying attention… pic.twitter.com/yjCwoJI8Wd
— Dan Gambardello (@dangambardello) April 12, 2026
🚨 DONALD TRUMP JUST STUNNED THE WORLD
Suddenly, oil and gas tankers want to RUSH to the US to fill up on energy. Look at the Gulf of America!
It’s almost like 47 had a plan this entire time 🔥
“Boats are sailing up, heading to OUR country, big, beautiful tankers — we’re… pic.twitter.com/xRFt22LuOi
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 12, 2026
🚨 HOLY CRAP! President Trump just stunned everybody, saying the world is USING AMERICA to fill up on oil because of what Iran did to the Strait
“At 10 o’clock tomorrow we have a blockade going into effect…other nations are working so that Iran will not be able to sell oil and… pic.twitter.com/O7DEvBqPSt
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 13, 2026
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth drew some parallels between the timing of the Easter weekend rescue mission of a downed U.S. Air Force officer behind enemy lines and the resurrection of Jesus Christ nearly two thousand years ago.
Speaking at a Monday briefing at the White House, Hegseth could not help noting that the timeline of the rescue operation suggested God may have had a hand in its positive outcome.
When the downed weapons systems officer activated his transponder after hiding himself on a remote mountainside in southwest Iran, his first message was “God is good,” Hegseth recounted.
The secretary of war pointed out the officer was “Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday, and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday.”
“A pilot reborn, all home and accounted for, a nation rejoicing: God is good.”
.@SecWar: “Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday, and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter.” pic.twitter.com/1GWtaiYoyj
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 6, 2026
Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz that had been repeatedly watered down in hopes those two countries would abstain.
The vote — 11-2, with two abstentions from Pakistan and Colombia— took place just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an unprecedented threat that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran does not open the strategic waterway and make a deal before his 8 p.m. Eastern deadline. One-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes through the strait, and Iran’s stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring.
President Donald Trump warned China on Sunday it would face a tariff among other “staggering” consequences if it provided weapons to Iran.
Trump announced a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in a Sunday morning Truth Social post, saying ships that paid an Iranian toll in either Chinese yuan or cryptocurrency would be intercepted by the United States Navy.
“Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump about reports China had provided missiles to Iran.
The U.K. is “not supporting” the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday, insisting that the country would not get “dragged in” to the Iran war.
It came as President Emmanuel Macron confirmed France and the U.K. would, in the coming days, co-host a conference aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Vessels avoiding damage from the Iran war are turning to a small island nation in Africa Business Insider Africa
from news.google.com
Oil prices may soon be coming down after this move by U.S. Forces.
U.S. CENTCOM on Saturday announced the USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy will patrol the Strait of Hormuz to clear it from mines that were placed by the Iranian regime.
The move by U.S. CENTCOM come as JD Vance and top Iranian officials are in Pakistan discussing a peace agreement that would bring an end to U.S. military operations in Iran.
U.S.-born Pope Leo XIV pushed back Monday on President Donald Trump’s broadside against him over the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, telling reporters that the Vatican’s appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he doesn’t fear the Trump administration.
“To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is,” Leo told The Associated Press aboard the papal plane en route to Algeria. “And I’m sorry to hear that but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today.”
Pope Leo has responded to President Trump’s attack on him by saying he has “no intention to debate” Mr. Trump on Iran.
On Sunday, Mr. Trump lashed out at the pontiff on social media, calling him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” he added.
Leo had called Mr. Trump’s threat to wipe out Iranian civilization “truly unacceptable” and encouraged people to contact “political leaders … to ask them, tell them to work for peace.”
Britain will not support Trump blockade of Strait of Hormuz, vows Starmer The National
from news.google.com
HONG KONG — China is poised to benefit from the Iran war as global energy disruptions accelerate a shift away from fossil fuels and toward clean technologies and renewable power, industries that China dominates.
Most of the oil and gas from the now mostly shut Strait of Hormuz was Asia-bound. Asian nations are scrambling to conserve energy and bolster dwindling reserves. As a temporary ceasefire teeters, gasoline prices in the U.S. and Europe are spiking.
While most of Asia is hit hard, China will likely benefit from the fossil fuel disruptions despite being the biggest purchaser of Iranian oil. China leads the world in battery, solar and electric vehicle exports, and its industries are forecast to face a rise in demand for renewable products.
Before the start of the Iran war in late February, China’s lead in clean technologies was lengthening. The U.S. under President Donald Trump scaled back on renewable energy and leaned on its vast oil and gas resources, promoting energy exports to achieve what Trump described as “energy dominance.”
Donald Trump has said he doesn’t care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the US after the weekend talks in Pakistan ended without a deal. “I don’t care if they come back or not,” Trump told reporters in Maryland on Sunday. “If they don’t come back, I’m fine.”
Trump said earlier that the US Navy would start blockading the Hormuz strait and also prohibit every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran. US Central Command said later it would begin a blockade of all Iranian Gulf ports and coastal areas on Monday at 10am ET (5.30pm in Iran and 1400 GMT), effectively seizing control of maritime traffic in the strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that “approaching military vessels to the strait of Hormuz is considered a violation of the ceasefire”.
Oil prices rose in early market trading after Trump’s blockade announcement. The price of US crude oil rose 8% to $104.24 a barrel and Brent crude oil – the international standard – rose 7% to $102.29. Australia’s share market dropped sharply on Monday morning.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf taunted Trump on X, saying in a post: “Enjoy the current pump figures. With the so-called ‘blockade’, Soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.” Earlier he said Trump’s new threats would have no effect on the Iranian nation: “If you fight, we will fight … We will not bow to any threats.”
Trump and his advisers are looking at resuming limited military strikes in Iran in addition to the US blockade of the Hormuz strait, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials and people familiar with the situation.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps asserted their sweeping control over the Strait of Hormuz, even as it signalled that civilian maritime traffic remains permitted under regulated conditions.In a statement, quoted by AFP, the Guards’ naval command said, “All traffic… is under the full control of the armed forces,” accompanied by footage showing vessels targeted through crosshairs. The warning escalated further with the message, “The enemy will become trapped in a deadly vortex in the Strait if it makes the wrong move.”
Oil prices have rocketed in early market trading after the US announced it would blockade Iranian ports.
The US military has confirmed it will halt all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports, with the measure taking effect at 10am ET (2pm GMT) today.
US crude oil prices surged eight per cent to $104.24 a barrel in early trading, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed seven per cent to $102.29.
Iran sees American demands as reaching far beyond what the United States achieved in war. Tehran is gambling that it can withstand further bombardment more than Washington is willing to sustain economic chaos, experts say.
from www.nytimes.com
The Iranian regime recently massacred perhaps as many as 40,000 of its own people, has been bombarding civilian targets in multiple nations for weeks, and has spent decades practicing international terrorism and domestic tyranny. So, of course, the United Nations just nominated an Iranian representative to its committee overseeing women’s rights and anti-terrorism measures.
Donald Trump hasn’t done interviews with neutral journalists who could challenge him in years. Trump’s venues of choice are either cell phone interviews that last a minute or two or conservative media like Fox News and Newsmax.
The Fox News interviews are heavily manufactured, usually pretaped, and edited before they air.
It takes a special level of incompetence to go on a network that is propagandistic and supportive and botch a softball question in such a friendly and managed environment.
The issue that is driving the special election results that Democrats have been dominating, and the Democratic Party’s midterm generic ballot lead that has been growing, is the economy. Inflation and rising prices are driving voter outrage directed at this president and his administration.
WASHINGTON — Former 2024 GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley said that the US will “probably” need to dispatch a special forces team to retrieve Iran’s uranium stockpile.
“That’s probably what it’s going to come down to. I mean, this is a special force mission. It would take about a week to ten days to get done. They know how to do it. It’s dangerous,” Haley told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
Two U.S. Navy destroyers had transited the Strait of Hormuz to begin mine-clearing operations in the vital waterway, U.S. Central Command said Saturday.
The destroyers crossed through the Strait and operated in the Arabian Gulf, CENTCOM said on social media. Additional U.S. forces, including underwater drones, will “join the clearance effort in the coming days,” CENTCOM said.
The operation came as President Trump said on Truth Social on Saturday that the U.S. was doing “a favor to Countries all over the world” by clearing mines from the strait. Mr. Trump also said Saturday that all of Iran’s mine-laying ships have been destroyed.
President Donald Trump spent the last week causing global panic, threatening to wipe out Iranian civilization before walking it back—at least for now.
But his callous threats are nothing new.
This is just the latest example of Republicans indulging themselves in phony masculinity by championing loud and obnoxious aggression. And this type of behavior didn’t begin with Trump, and it isn’t even the first time the right’s saber-rattling has involved Iran.
ROME — In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and demanded political leaders stop and negotiate peace.
Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan and as a fragile ceasefire held.
Did Trump arm Iranians and they failed to deliver?
Trump’s Claim of Arming Iranian Protesters Triggers Speculation Among Chinese Netizens Vision Times
from news.google.com
Iran’s leadership is facing new questions after a report claimed the country’s newly installed supreme leader is no longer able to function in his role just weeks after taking power.
According to The Times, Mojtaba Khamenei is “incapacitated and receiving medical treatment” in the city of Qom.
The report cites a diplomatic memo based on U.S. and Israeli intelligence shared with Gulf allies.
Intelligence Memo Raises Serious Questions
The memo reportedly describes Khamenei as suffering from a “severe condition.”
The unidentified condition has left him “unable to be involved in any decision-making by the regime.”
The claims, if accurate, would signal a major disruption at the top of Iran’s ruling structure during a period of heightened regional tensions.
After President Trump took out Soleimani, you would think that his relatives wouldn’t be allowed to spread anti-American hate in the United States. Turns out the State Department is just getting around to it. An F-15E was struck down over Iran, and American special forces went in to recover the missing pilots. Europe just doesn’t understand why it matters. X has become a right wing echo chamber. At least, Nate Silver thinks so. Let’s try to figure out his logic.
Israeli forces killed more than 200 people in strikes against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, on Wednesday. Top European diplomats called for Lebanon to be included in the cease-fire.
from www.nytimes.com
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s sunny assessment of the prospects for a long-term peace agreement with Iran, fundamental differences remain between the two sides’ visions for a deal.
Trump has described Iran’s 10-point plan as “a workable basis on which to negotiate,” but questions remain about what exactly it contains and whether it crosses U.S. red lines.
Iranian state media have reported that the plan would allow Iran to maintain its ability to enrich uranium, protect Tehran’s allied militant groups in the Middle East, including Hezbollah and Hamas, and secure the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from bases in the region.
However, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance denies that this is the plan Trump was describing as workable.
The Australian foreign minister has called for an urgent end to hostilities in Lebanon.
In a statement, Penny Wong said: “Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom remain deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian situation and displacement crisis in Lebanon.
“We welcome the ceasefire agreed between the United States, Israel and Iran. We call for an urgent end to hostilities in Lebanon.
“Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected from the effects of hostilities.
“FBI and our partners have arrested a former SOCOM employee, who supported our top-level military warfighters, for allegedly transmitting classified information to a member of the media.”
The FBI has arrested a former Special Operations Command employee who allegedly leaked classified information to the press.
“FBI and our partners have arrested a former SOCOM employee, who supported our top-level military warfighters, for allegedly transmitting classified information to a member of the media,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on Wednesday. “Let this serve as a message to any would-be leakers: we’re working these cases, and we’re making arrests. This FBI will not tolerate those who seek to betray our country and put Americans in harm’s way.”