Originally published at: https://peakprosperity.com/daily-digest/no-end-in-sight-for-iran-war-as-fuel-prices-surge-lng-diverted-from-europe/
Iran War
The conflict entered its seventh day with no time limits set. President Donald Trump stated the conflict will continue until Iran cannot fight any longer. Iran reportedly rejected ceasefire proposals and expressed readiness for a potential US ground invasion. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated confidence in confronting US forces. Iran’s interim leadership stated it would not attack neighbors unless provoked.
Iran launched over 500 ballistic missiles in the first week, according to reports, straining stockpiles and damaging radars in Jordan and the UAE valued at hundreds of millions of dollars each. US officials reported intercepting Iranian missiles at over 90 percent rates. US THAAD interceptor production stands at 96 per year. Additionally, US officials stated Russia provided Iran with locations of US warships and aircraft in the Middle East.
US gasoline prices reached $3.262 per gallon nationally, the highest during Trump’s terms, with diesel at $4.124 per gallon. Oil prices rose 21 percent weekly to $88.92 for Brent despite US sanction waivers allowing Russian oil sales to India totaling about 9.5 million barrels for 30 days (oil loaded before March 5). A White House official indicated plans to seize Iranian oil to address energy security concerns. Additionally, the US granted a one-month license for Russia to sell oil loaded before March 5 to Indian firms. Oil prices rose 21 percent weekly despite this release. Kuwait reportedly curbed oil output due to storage constraints. Kuwait and Iraq reportedly cut output due to storage limits. Qatar warned of global energy shocks if Gulf exporters declare force majeure. Oil prices hit $90 per barrel, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated possible further waivers on Russian oil. Critics described the license as a potential windfall for Russia.
Meanwhile, Europe’s natural gas prices rose toward their largest weekly surge in three years at 50 percent. Qatar’s LNG situation saw Europe outbid as tankers rerouted to Asia, with spot prices reaching $25.40 per million BTU after force majeure declarations. The Hormuz closure and Qatar’s production halt reportedly idled 20 percent of global supply. Europe-bound LNG cargoes from the US and Nigeria were diverted to Asia via the Cape of Good Hope, as Asian buyers outbid Europe. Asian importers absorbed 85 percent of Qatar’s exports amid shipping constraints. Europe faced a 5.8 million ton monthly shortfall, with alternatives from other exporters like the US and Australia covering under 2 million tons despite operating at high utilization. LNG shipping rates increased 650 percent to $300,000 per day as traders secured vessels amid Middle East disruptions. Russia’s LNG supplies reportedly pivoted to Asia. Despite this, some analysts described the disruptions as potentially temporary given US production buffers.
US Treasury yields rose amid inflation concerns from the prolonged war, and the UAE is reportedly considering freezing Iranian assets after strikes on Dubai.
Economy
BlackRock limited withdrawals from its $26 billion HPS Corporate Lending Fund to 5 percent despite 9.3 percent redemption requests worth $1.2 billion, honoring $620 million in liquidity. A smaller $2.2 billion fund met all 4.5 percent requests. Fund managers described the limit as a standard feature to protect investors from forced asset sales.
FinCEN imposed an $80 million penalty on Canaccord Genuity for Bank Secrecy Act violations, including inadequate anti-money laundering programs and failure to file 160 suspicious activity reports on securities fraud schemes. The broker-dealer admitted the failures.
Bureau of Labor Statistics revisions reduced January estimates by 2.5 million native-born workers, adjusting working-age population down 231,000 and employment by 1.432 million, returning native-born employment to near 2019 levels of 131 million.
In other news, US Postal Service Postmaster General David Steiner warned cash reserves could deplete within a year without congressional action to lift borrowing caps, projecting inability to pay employees and vendors by February 2027. The agency reported a $9 billion net loss in fiscal 2025 and $1.3 billion in early 2026, amid halved mail volume from digital shifts. Steiner proposed raising first-class stamps to 95 cents and reforms to pensions and investments. Some observers advocated privatization as an alternative solution.
Epstein Files
The House voted 357-65 to refer a resolution to the Ethics Committee, blocking public release of sexual misconduct investigation files against members. Proponents cited risks of re-traumatizing victims and deterring witnesses. Representative Nancy Mace criticized both parties for protecting predators and secured a subpoena for pre-2018 Office of Congressional Workplace Rights records on congressional settlements under the Congressional Accountability Act, which ended a $17 million taxpayer-funded settlement fund.
US Politics
Virginia Democrats advanced HB 333, which would require school instruction describing the January 6, 2021, events at the US Capitol as an insurrection and violent attack to overturn the 2020 election. The bill would prohibit portraying the events as a peaceful protest or suggesting credible election fraud altered results, and mandate describing them as targeting democratic institutions. Critics, including legal scholar Jonathan Turley, argued it mandates a specific narrative without federal insurrection charges.
Researcher Andrew Arnold used AI to map networks linked to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), including connections among Silicon Valley figures, officials, and investors such as former White House Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios and Palantir. DOGE reportedly accessed data systems across agencies including the IRS, State Department, and military offices. A US-China Economic Security Review Commission report described a proposed program for artificial general intelligence surpassing human capabilities. Developments reportedly link to geopolitical competition over rare earth minerals, including deposits in Iran and Greenland.
Health
A peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons reported mRNA vaccines inducing gene expression alterations across transcriptomics, proteomics, and genomics. RNA sequencing showed shifts in mitochondrial, ribosomal, and metabolic pathways post-vaccination. Longitudinal plasma analysis tracked changes in 214 of 342 proteins over 24 weeks, including complement and endocrine systems. A case study linked vaccination to bladder cancer, citing oncogenic dysregulation, DNA instability, and chimeric vaccine sequences in tumor DNA. Some researchers criticized the study’s methodology and the journal’s credibility.
Sources
Markets: America’s Achilles’ Heel in the Iran War
In a strange way, markets could come to be a surrogate institutional check on a country that otherwise doesn’t know restraint
Source | Submitted by PhilH
US Grants Russia Oil Sales License to India in Hormuz Blockade Workaround
the US issued a general license to allow for some Russian oil sales to India
Source | Submitted by nickythec
DOGE Unmasked: Backdoor to an AI Superintelligence Takeover
DOGE was a backdoor for an AI superintelligence designed to take over the world.
U.S. Gas Prices Hit Trump-Era Peak as Iran War Chokes Oil Flows
U.S. Gasoline Surges to Highest Under Trump as Iran War Roils Oil Market
Source | Submitted by jhughes1973
Europe’s Gas Prices Set for Biggest Weekly Surge in 3 Years as Middle East War Chokes LNG Supply
Europe’s benchmark natural gas prices were on track early on Friday for a 50% weekly jump—the biggest one-week surge since the energy crisis in the summer of 2023, as the Middle East war has cut off 20% of global LNG supply.
Source | Submitted by jhughes1973
Europe-Bound LNG Flees to Asia as Gulf War Idles 20% of Global Supply
Europe-Bound LNG Cargoes Divert to Asia as War Upends Gas Market
Source | Submitted by jhughes1973
Oil Prices Surge 21% Amid Hormuz Crisis Despite US Russian Oil Release
“The only way for prices to come down on a sustained basis is a resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Source | Submitted by jhughes1973
LNG Shipping Rates Skyrocket 650% to $300,000/Day Amid Middle East Crisis
charter rates for modern LNG carriers surging from roughly $40,000 last week to around $300,000 per day
Source | Submitted by jhughes1973
USPS Cash Reserves Could Dry Up in a Year Without Congressional Action: Postmaster
the service could run out of cash reserves within a year
Source | Submitted by Shplad
FinCEN Slaps Record $80M Penalty on Canaccord for AML Failures in Securities Fraud Schemes
This is the largest penalty ever imposed against a broker-dealer for violating the BSA.
Source | Submitted by Danny Guy
BlackRock Gates $26B Private Credit Fund at 5% Withdrawals Amid 9.3% Requests
BlackRock’s $26B private credit fund is limiting how much investors can pull out, capping withdrawals at 5% even though investors asked for 9.3%
Source | Submitted by Paladin
BlackRock Gates $26B Private Credit Fund as Redemptions Hit 9.3%
BlackRock $26 Billion Private Credit Fund Limits Withdrawals
Source (Paywalled) | Submitted by Jason M.
Bessent: US May Unsanction More Russian Oil as Hormuz Crisis Drives Prices to $90
“We may unsanction other Russian oil.”
BLS Revision Erases 2.5M Native-Born Workers: Trump’s Jobs Mirage Vanishes
the entire boom in native-born employment was fake news: a statistical mirage
Virginia Democrats Mandate Jan. 6 as “Insurrection” in Schools, Ban Dissenting Views
Virginia Democrats are moving to require teachers to tell students that Jan. 6th was an “insurrection” and effectively bar them from referencing “peaceful protests” or election irregularities.
UAE Eyes Freeze on Billions in Iranian Assets After Retaliatory Strikes on Dubai
is now weighing freezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets held in the Gulf state
Russia Provides Iran with US Warship and Aircraft Locations: Officials
Russia is providing Iran with targeting information to attack American forces in the Middle East, the first indication that another major US adversary is participating – even indirectly – in the war, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence.
Trump: Fight Iran Until They “Can’t Fight Any Longer” as War Hits Day 7, Oil Surges
when they can’t fight any longer because they don’t have anyone or anything to fight with.
Kuwait Curbs Oil Output as Hormuz Crisis Risks Global Energy Shock, Qatar Warns
The Gulf conflict could trigger a global economic shock.
Iran Rejects Ceasefire, Dares US Ground Invasion as Trump Vows Timeless War
“We are waiting for them.”
Peer-Reviewed Paper: mRNA Vaccines Reprogram Human Gene Expression
mRNA vaccines operate through a gene-altering mechanism of action (MOA)—fundamentally reprogramming human gene expression across multiple layers of biology.
Russia’s LNG Pivot East: Iran War Delivers Unplanned Windfall
Russia is not weaponizing energy. The war is weaponizing it. Russia is collecting the receipt.
THAAD’s Deadly Arithmetic: 96 a Year vs. Iran’s 500 a Week
The United States produces 96 THAAD interceptors per year. Eight per month. Two per week.
White House Official: US to Seize All Iranian Oil from Terrorists
the US will seize “all the oil” from Iran.
Qatar LNG Crisis: Europe Outbid as Tankers Turn to Asia
This is a live auction for civilizational energy conducted on the open ocean, and Europe is losing it to buyers with deeper sovereign balance sheets and shorter supply chains.
Iran Vows No Attacks on Neighbors Unless Provoked First: Pezeshkian
neighbouring countries will no longer be attacked unless an attack on Iran originates from them
House Overwhelmingly Votes to Bury Sexual Misconduct Files
“Both parties colluded today to protect predators.”
Source | Submitted by Shplad
In addition to sources submitted by community members, the following were also used in the creation of this report: TrueSourceBot, The Intelligencer, Rystad Energy via Oilprice.com, ZeroHedge, Elon Musk, @realdavidonline, WSJ, Hampton Prescott, Jonathan Turley, and Robby1614.