Saudi Arabia
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Defense and Security
Operation Epic Fury: a war of choice launched days before a deal, still unfinished eight months and $43.6 billion later
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, 2026, two days after Oman said a deal was near; eight months on Hormuz is contested, 21 US troops are dead, the bill is $43.6 billion, Iran's uranium is unaccounted for and no deal exists.
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Money and Conflicts of Interest
The largest oil supply disruption in history: what the Iran war did to the price of gas, diesel and everything shipped
Gasoline went from under $3 to $4.48 within ten weeks of the Iran war, diesel to $6.50, Brent peaked near $138, tanker hire rose from $65,000 to $1.6 million a day, and average gas prices under Trump now exceed Biden's.
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Foreign Policy
The Oval Office blow-up, then the switch-off: how the US cut weapons and intelligence to Ukraine for a week
After the February 28, 2025 Oval Office clash, the Trump administration paused weapons deliveries and intelligence sharing with Ukraine; both resumed on March 11 only after Kyiv accepted a US ceasefire proposal and a minerals deal.
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Foreign Policy
'Where's my favorite dictator?': a sourced catalog of Trump's affection for strongmen
From 'we fell in love' with Kim Jong Un to 'genius' for Putin, 'my favorite dictator' for el-Sisi, campaigning for Orbán, a state dinner for Xi and shutting down a Khashoggi question for MBS, the record spans both terms.
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Defense and Security
Everyone said this would happen: 50 years of warnings that Iran would close Hormuz and that bombs alone could not end its program
The Shah said Iran could close Hormuz in 1972; Iran threatened it in 1983, 1984, 2011, 2018 and 2025; a 2012 bipartisan study said strikes buy four years at most and invite retaliation at the strait. By September 2026 the US was losing.