...goal is to obtain proxy control over Iran’s enormous oil and gas reserves so that they can be weaponized as leverage against China for coercing it into a lopsided trade deal that would derail its superpower rise

"What started as a single stock flinch early in the month turned into an index flinch mid-month, and finished with the first signs of a credit flinch as CDX IG widened 5 points on the week, amid surging put open interest... of all these (and for good reason), the credit flinch worries me the most" - Goldman

"Planning documents" such as Which Path to Persia have also been around for years...

Seriously!?

“Respectfully, f**k off...”

Lawyers for the Justice Department warned that "the coming process will take time"...

Why Operation Epic Fury Is the Opening Act of the Indo-Pacific Century

"Nobody wants this". 

The president spoke in Corpus Christi at the nation’s busiest port, flanked by tankers containing crude oil from Venezuela.

At least nine Israelis dead, over 40 injured in single missile impact...

Look beneath the hood...

"But repeated conflicts with Iran and its proxies in the Middle East have been eating into the supply of air defenses in the region."

It's bad, but it could have been worse. 

And it's heating up...

The dollar exhibit the strongest negative correlation with the MSCI World index during selloffs. This relationship also holds well during larger equity drawdowns.

Easy-to-spot phishing scams are becoming less common as fraudsters up their game.

Attacks on US Embassy in Baghdad also underway...