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Anti-Trump protests outweigh supporter rallies - Statista

Katharina Buchholz for Statista March 28, 2026

Protests in the United States against President Donald Trump or the Trump administration by far outweigh rallies organized by Trump supporters, Statista reports.

COMMENT: Could Iran target undersea cables?

External contributor March 28, 2026

Iran's deadliest weapon is not airborne. Seventeen submarine cables on the Persian Gulf floor carry 30% of global internet traffic and the world's financial bloodstream. The IRGC may already have orders to cut them.

Second attack on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power station raises Chernobyl radiation cloud spectre

Ben Aris in Berlin March 28, 2026

A second missile attack in the proximity to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant (NPP) has raised the spectre of a Chernobyl-like cloud of radiation drifting over the Gulf region, making some countries uninhabitable and poisoning the water.

Crisis-virus: From disruption to destruction

Ben Aris in Berlin March 27, 2026

“We are facing a real shock that is probably beyond what we can imagine at the moment,” said European Central Bank (ECB) head Christine Lagarde in a recent interview.

US Treasury bill market under growing strain from Middle East turmoil

Ben Aris in Berlin March 27, 2026

The $30 trillion US Treasury market is exhibiting mounting signs of stress as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East trigger heightened volatility in government bonds that underpin the global financial system.

Iran war creates perfect storm for the petrodollar - Deutsche Bank

Ben Aris in Berlin March 27, 2026

The world was already dedollarising thanks to rising East-West tensions and the US decision to weaponize the dollar in 2022 by seizing the Russian central bank’s reserves. Trump has gone a step further.

Iran war is Asia's Ukraine moment, rapid green energy rollout will accelerate

Ben Aris in Berlin March 27, 2026

Three quarters of the world's population live in fossil importing countries and bleed out at least 3% of GDP every year to import oil to run their cars and power plants.

Israel, US have armed themselves for the wrong war

Ben Aris in Berlin March 27, 2026

The Israeli Army took its heaviest tank losses in over 40 years after Hezbollah ambushes destroyed 21 Merkavas main battle tanks in a single day on March 26. Israel and the US have armed themselves for the wrong war.

Qatar Airways parks 22 jets at Spain's Teruel airport as Gulf War continues

bnm Gulf bureau March 27, 2026

Qatar Airways has parked 22 jets at Spain's Teruel airport in under a week as Gulf airspace closures force carriers to store surplus capacity, echoing fleet grounding patterns last seen during Covid-19.

Iran drives US military out of all thirteen of its gulf military bases

Ben Aris in Berlin March 26, 2026

Iran has driven the US military out of all thirteen of its Gulf military bases, The New York Times (NYT) reported on March 25.

Saudi Arabia boosts Red Sea oil exports to 4.4mn b/d

Ben Aris in Berlin March 26, 2026

Saudi Arabia has sharply increased crude exports from its Red Sea terminals at Yanbu as it diverts shipments away from the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, where flows have been severely disrupted since late February, according to Bloomberg.

UAE advances alternative trade route to bypass Strait of Hormuz

Ben Aris in Berlin March 26, 2026

The United Arab Emirates is accelerating efforts to establish a new trade corridor linking its eastern seaboard to Saudi Arabia, to bypass the Strait of Hormuz bottleneck.

Israel targeting civilians in southern Lebanon invasion

Ben Aris in Berlin March 26, 2026

Israel is deliberately targeting residential buildings and populated areas in an attempt to depopulate southern Lebanon, according to reports.

How long would countries' oil stocks last? Statista

Tristan Gaudiaut for Statista March 26, 2026

As global oil markets reel from the fallout of the Iran conflict, strategic reserves have once again come into focus as a key buffer against supply shocks, Statista reports.

Iran’s missiles, drones stored under impenetrable granite mountains

Ben Aris in Berlin March 26, 2026

US President Donald Trump claims US forces have destroyed Iran’s missile and drone stockpiles. But since the first days of the war the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) triggered its Mosaic Defences and hid its weapons inside mountains.

How Iran’s strike on Qatar is choking the global AI economy

External contributor March 26, 2026

The world has fixated on oil prices and LNG disruption. It has almost entirely missed the far more consequential story: Iran’s asymmetric strike on Qatar’s Ras Laffan facility has severed one-third of the global supply of helium.

Qatar LNG plant damage could take five years to fix if key components destroyed

Ben Aris in Berlin March 25, 2026

Iran targeted and hit Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas plant on March 18, the backbone of Qatar's LNG exports and source of a third of the world’s supply of liquid gas. If key components were destroyed the plant could take five years to fix.

Riyadh betting on Iran war escalation in trade off of short-term damage for long-term regional dominance

Ben Aris in Berlin March 25, 2026

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) is taking a big gamble. He is pressing Washington for a more aggressive stance in its Iran campaign betting the short term damage cost is the price of leaving the Kingdom as the dominant regional power.

Israel strikes Iranian Caspian port used by Russia to supply arms, food

Ben Aris in Berlin March 25, 2026

More evidence emerged that the CRINK alliance (China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea) are supplying Iran with arms on March 24, after an Israeli strike on a Caspian sea smuggling route used by Moscow to supply Tehra

Spain granted permission to sail through Hormuz, as Trump's energy dominance policy failing

Ben Aris in Berlin March 25, 2026

Iran grants Spanish vessels unrestricted access through Strait of Hormuz Spain has joined the club of Iran’s “friendly nations” after Tehran granted Spanish vessels a permits-for-passage unfettered access to the Strait of Hormuz on March 24.

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