Strait of Hormuz

Wednesday

The Spectator

Which age group is most at risk of meningitis?

Churchill insurance There was outrage that Winston Churchill is to be dumped from the £5 note in favour of wildlife. But was Churchill actually a good example with money? Shortly after he became prime minister in May 1940, he was faced with two crises: the capitulation of France to the invading German forces and the prospect of personal bankruptcy. He had an overdraft of £5,602 (£274,000 in today’s money), while his income from writing was to diminish as a result of his taking high office. The situation was only resolved when businessman Sir Henry Strakosch made an anonymous donation of £5,000, paid via his business partner – and Churchill’s friend

Tuesday

Joshua Treviño

Iran and the sickness of the European mind

The politics of the Iranian war feature an observable gap between interest and action for nearly all parties. The Americans possessed overwhelming casus belli versus Iran for nearly half a century, and did not act upon it until three weeks past. The Iranians possessed none against America for just as long, but exerted themselves with religious fanaticism to bring this war upon themselves. The Arab autocracies of the Persian-Gulf region find themselves under direct attack from the Iranians, but do not respond in kind. The Chinese observe a core strategic proxy and key commodities supplier taken off the chessboard – for the second time in under 90 days – and

Friday

Freddy Gray

What Signalgate tells us about Iran

Remember Signalgate? It was quite the story, and worth revisiting now in light of Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and its dire implications for the global economy.  In March last year, Donald Trump’s then National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz, somehow added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, to a Signal messaging group for senior government officials to discuss top secret military action against the Houthis in Yemen. The group included the Vice President J. D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff Stephen