- Trump: "Iran has just informed us that they are in a “State of Collapse.” They want us to “Open the Hormuz Strait,” as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation (Which I believe they will be able to do!). Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP"
- The United Arab Emirates has announced that it is withdrawing from OPEC as of May 1.
- WSJ: Iran is scrambling to find new ways to store its oil, hoping to avoid a crippling production shutdown as a U.S. naval blockade bottles up its exports and negotiations to end the war remain deadlocked.
- Chairman of the Israeli Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Boaz Bismuth, at the end of the security briefing: “The Iranian regime is about to pay a very heavy price. I call on everyone to continue with their routine, be patient, and stay alert.”
- Hezbollah claims to have targeted an Israeli military bulldozer in the southern Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil this afternoon, while it was demolishing homes.
- NYT: The Trump administration believes that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei or senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are not authorized to agree to any concessions on the nuclear issue. Therefore, there is no reason to think that a change in Iran's position is expected - without a return to fighting.
- Bloomberg: Iran is running out of oil storage and is expected to cut its oil production rate by mid-May, according to a report by the research company Kpler. According to the report, Iran has only 12-22 days left before it will be forced to cut production, at a daily volume of about 1.5 million barrels of oil
- Secretary of State Rubio: Promising signs were received over the weekend that an agreement regarding the disarmament of Hamas is approaching
"there is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents…There is also an artificial aristocracy, founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents.."
ReplyDelete