US launches Project Freedom
*** Iran’s futile attempt to resist U.S. ships from escorting cargo ships through the Strait of Hormuz saw U.S. helicopters blast six small armed Iranian gunboats out of the water as they attacked some of the ships stranded by the fighting.
** Iran also responded with drones and missiles at some U.S. Navy ships and attacked and set an oil port ablaze at the United Arab Emirates.
Iran makes claim
** Iran’s armed forces on Monday said they prevented US naval units from entering the Strait of Hormuz, hours after US President Donald Trump announced an operation to accompany stranded ships through the key waterway.
Houthis steal oil
** A surge in Somali piracy is fueling fears of a Red Sea “security vacuum” across the region as analysts warn of a revived maritime crime playbook, now linked to Iran-backed Houthis.
Russian oil tankers hit by drones
** Ukraine on Sunday launched a wave of strikes against Russian oil targets, hitting a key loading port on the Baltic Sea and two tankers that Ukraine alleges were illegally used to transport Russian crude.
China fights sanctions
** China has announced an injunction to block US sanctions placed on five Chinese refiners accused of buying oil from Iran. The US sanctions announced by the Department of the Treasury late last month bar the refiners from the US financial system and seek to penalize anyone doing business with the firms.
US energy
** Nine Native American tribes in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska are suing the federal government in a bid to stop exploratory drilling for graphite near a sacred site in the Black Hills. The tribes filed their federal lawsuit in South Dakota against the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
** California taxpayers may be on the hook for a roughly $1 billion detour project as part of the state’s new high-speed rail construction meant to prevent disruption of a monument honoring the disgraced labor leader Cesar Chavez.
** Fervo Energy, the prominent geothermal startup, revealed that it’s looking to raise $1.17 billion to $1.33 billion in its upcoming IPO.
** Flight and hotel bookings are already dipping as the Iran war sends gasoline and jet fuel prices sharply upward, industry experts warn.