Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed from Israel on Monday afternoon for the United States, where he will be hosted in the Oval Office on Tuesday. "This is my eighth meeting with him since he was elected President, more than any other international leader," Netanyahu told reporters ahead of the Trump meeting. He acknowledged that Iran will be top of the agenda, and asserted: "I am setting out on this mission with one clear goal: to ensure the security, strength, and future of our dear State of Israel."
"From my experience as prime minister, during these complex times we must act with both great determination and great wisdom," he stated. "Our joint efforts have brought about a tremendous victory over our common enemy - Iran."
via GPO"We have already transformed the face of the Middle East beyond recognition, and we now have the opportunity and the ability to change it even further and bring a great future to the State of Israel, the people of Israel, and the entire [region]," Netanyahu said, mentioning the Abraham Accords.
In an appearance on Fox News just before his trip, he laid out that the Iran war must end with either regime collapse or total nuclear program halt. He said that Tehran must understand that continuing to cause "global economic chaos, kill thousands of its own citizens, and attack others" carries severe consequences.
He emphasized the Islamic Republic's nuclear program must end "with or without a deal." According to more:
The Iran war will end "when the Iranian regime falls, or weakens to such an extent that it understands that it must end its nuclear program," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a Sunday interview with Fox News.
Netanyahu insisted that Iran end its nuclear program "with or without a deal," noting that US-Israeli attacks against the Islamic regime had set the program back by "a good few years."
He added that an Iranian nuclear weapon would be a "mortal peril to every citizen in the United States," saying that Israel would "pursue all the means to prevent that" from happening.
And Netanyahu reiterated that any Iranian or proxy militant attacks against Israel would be met with a "very decisive" response, adding that the country would be making a "huge mistake".
He also told Fox that he eagerly awaits being informed by Trump of next potential decisions on Iran, and added: "In many respects, it is his decision."
Curt Mills of The American Conservative has commented in reaction to Netanyahu's comments as he heads to Washington to sell Trump on an Israeli vision for the war...
Plain as day. And fair enough (for him). Nothing -- nothing -- about how this is in the interest of the United States of America.
At the moment there has been a 'pause' in fighting in effect, which could flare up again at any time.
In Washington, the late Senator Lindsey Graham's funeral proceedings will start Tuesday. There's a big of irony to Netanyahu meeting Trump the same day, as Graham was an outspoken pro-Israel, anti-Iran hawk who had for many years advocated for regime change war against Iran.
Netanyahu before leaving for Washington:
I am on my way to Washington for a meeting with our friend, President of the United States Donald Trump.
his is my eighth meeting with him since he was elected President, more than any other international leader. It is a great… pic.twitter.com/uZ13SOo4ez
There's a chance Netanyahu may even appeal to Graham's legacy as well will no doubt seek to convince Trump to stay the course on Iran, and continue the bombing campaign until results that are favorable to Israel are achieved.
Tyler Durden Tue, 07/28/2026 - 05:45* * *
Trump Cites 'Deep Talks' - Warns of Expanded Action; Houthis Claim Responsibility for New Aramco AttacksPresident Trump has told Axios on Monday that he decided to pause American military attacks on Iran in order to give negotiations another chance, despite there currently being no evidence that Tehran has been urgently requesting them. Trump warned in the comments that war could immediately return with expanded strikes if diplomacy fails.
But it seems there's at least some indirect 'note passing' between capitals going on, even as Saudi Aramco facilities have apparently come under drone assault from Iran-aligned militants in Yemen and Iraq. Axios writes that "The talks are being conducted mainly between Iran and Oman. But Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt and Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are actively involved."
"We are in very deep talks with Iran. If they don't work out, we will go back to very strong military action," Trump said in an interview. Again, very deep talks?... The Iranian side is certainly not confirming this, but instead quite the opposite. Tehran has definitively stated its position that there are no talks currently happening. It seems it is merely the mediating powers that are most urgently trying to get the sides back to the negotiating table. Trump said he won't give diplomacy "much time" and that it "either goes fast or not at all."
"All of the people that deal with Iran asked me: 'Don't fire,'" he also said, perhaps alluding to reports like the following:
The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East recommended ending the bombing campaign around the Strait of Hormuz after concluding it reached the limits of its effectiveness, a recommendation that helped shape President Donald Trump's decision to pause strikes against Iran, Axios reported Sunday.
Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, advised Pentagon leaders, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the White House last week that two weeks of sustained airstrikes had weakened Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping through the strategic waterway, multiple sources familiar with the discussions said.
As for new reported strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities (below), and particularly the sprawling Abqaiq site, the Houthis are claiming responsibility.
The last time Abqaiq (in 2019) was attacked by drones, Brent prices rose 20%.
Today, they're down 7% https://t.co/FNfEjBHQRQ
Previously Trump vowed to hold Iran directly responsible for any attacks carried out by its proxy groups.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY: Significant amount of **flaring** in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, including the processing facility of Abqaiq and linked facilities of the Ghawar giant oilfield.
(**Flaring doesn't mean damage. More photos below speculating about potential damage**) pic.twitter.com/5U1e9IaJkS
Saturday saw a final break in what was 13 consecutive days of tit-for-tat attacks between the United States and Iran, with US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz having confirmed to Fox News Sunday that President Trump is trying to give peace talks "some space".
"He's giving it a little bit of room," Waltz said. "We’ve had both Oman and Iran and a number of our other negotiators engaged at every level, from the most senior levels all the way down to the technical level, over the past few weeks and particularly in the past few days."
via CENTCOMWalsh has brushed aside emerging reports that US defense interceptor supplies are running low, "I want to be crystal clear: The U.S. military, and I’ve verified this every which way, has everything that it needs to conduct this campaign as effectively as it needs to be," he said.
But a who's who of top admin and military officials have voiced concerns, including the following:
An Iranian military official warned Sunday that the country would expand its 'retaliatory' attacks in the region if the US restarts airstrikes. This as a pause has held for two days.
Iran Warns it will Expand Strikes of US Bombing Resumes"I believe that if the Americans once again fall for the Zionists' deception, or move in line with them, and insist on continuing the war, particularly through airstrikes, geographically this will expand further," Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia told AFP. Iran is also boasting that it still controls the Strait of Hormuz, and that Washington is "stuck" in the region - and that only Tehran decides when the conflict ends.
Tehran has at the same time once again confirmed there are no negotiations happening. "It’s possible that mediators share messages from the US side about current developments in the region, but at the moment we have no negotiations with the US," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters on Monday.
The ARAMCO refinery in Jizan, eastern Saudi Arabia, is still burning more than 2 days after the impact of ballistic missiles launched by the Houtis.
A massive trail of smoke which extends for about 70 km can be seen on Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, 26/07/2026. pic.twitter.com/v05cwhMRjY
He also batted down claims that Iran has requested negotiations - after Trump recently asserted it was begging for talks - as "fake news". Baghaei further explained that Iran won't hesitate to use diplomacy to protect national interests, as cited in Bloomberg. He also described that Iranian and Omani officials held several rounds of "useful" talks about the management of ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
US strikes and Iranian counterattacks could restart at any moment, given that the US continues to enforce a blockade on Iranian ports.
Still, an unnamed Iranian official separately told Reuters that Tehran's position "remains 'attack for attack': if the attacks stop, Iran will also halt its operations. That message has already been conveyed to the United States."
Reports of KSA's Abqaiq Oil Facility HitMeanwhile there are emerging Monday reports that Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq oil processing facility in the kingdom's eastern province is on fire after probable drone and/or missile strikes by the Houthis, or from Iran-aligned Iraqi militias.
Newsquawk reports based on emerging Iranian state media that "Hours ago, the huge Abqaiq oil facility in eastern Saudi Arabia, one of the world's most important oil processing centers, was set on fire in drone and missile attacks, reports Tasnim citing sources and images." Below are the distant images posted by Tasnim on Telegram:
Some various OSINT accounts are also seeking to verify the fires. If confirmed this would be a very serious development, which potential significant impact on the kingdom's crude output. An official response is emerging from Saudi media, as Arab sources report explosions in the kingdom:
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defence said it intercepted drones from Iraqi territory that attempted to target oil facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh regions, Al Hadath reports
Massive 300 mw fire at Abqaiq refinery and east west pumping station. Unclear what the cause is. This saudi oil facility is on fire.
25.92676, 49.68748 is not at a flaring location pic.twitter.com/0iFh1zhEc0
International reports commonly estimate that the sprawling Abqaiq facility - as the largest crude oil stabilization and processing facility in the world - has a maximum processing capacity of 7 million barrels per day (bpd) and typically operates at around 4.9 million bpd.
Houthi media has also been highlighting the fires at the site on Monday, following prior alleged Houthi attacks on key Aramco sites in Jizan and Yanbu over the weekend. The group's military spokesperson Yahya Sare identified that these sites were hit, with international press agencies citing, "There is no immediate Saudi confirmation, though footage shows plumes of black smoke rising into the air from the Aramco refinery in Jizan."
Tyler Durden Tue, 07/28/2026 - 05:35Batches of previously unreleased documentary footage give a behind-the-scenes look at the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's work to maneuver the United States into military conflicts on behalf of Israel, and the sheer joy he exuded when President Trump finally brought Graham's long-held dreams of an all-out war on Iran to fruition.
The video comes from British documentary filmmaker Alex Holder, whom Graham had granted close, ongoing access from 2023 up until Graham's sudden death on July 11. Holder plans to release a documentary called "Lindsey's Game" later this year, but he's just released several samples from his hundreds of hours of footage. They fully cement Graham's reputation as a man who constantly pushed for war and found unparalleled joy in bringing destruction to foreign peoples.
That latter dimension of Graham's twisted personality can be vividly seen and heard in footage of Graham in his Senate office in late February. He and is staff are watching Trump, on Fox News, bragging that "virtually everything [the Iranians] have has been knocked out."
WATCH: Unreleased documentary footage shows Lindsey Graham extremely happy that Trump finally bombed Iran.
“Look what we’ve done here. I almost cried… How long have we been pushing this?” Graham says after U.S. strikes begin.
Graham also says Trump told him the strikes were… pic.twitter.com/ULQrxwteyl
Positively exuberant that massive US-Israeli attacks on Iran had just begun, Graham laughs aloud with joy, then gushes to the documentary crew and his own staffers, “Look what we’ve done here. I almost cried. I mean, like, how long have we been pushing this?" Holder replies, "you've been pushing this for years." Graham laughs again and -- sounding just a child on Christmas morning -- says with dewy-eyed disbelief, "Right...it's here!"
Graham says Trump is enjoying the war too. "I talked to Trump this morning -- he’s jacked. He said, ‘best thing I have ever done.’ He loves blowing stuff up.” We'd be remiss if we didn't remind readers that one of the first things Trump and the US Navy had already blown up in Graham's giddy early hours of the war was an elementary school in southern Iran. More than 150 civilians were killed at the Minab school, most of them girls between age 7 and 12.
Iranians dig graves for more than 100 schoolgirls killed by US Tomahawk missiles in the opening round of the US-Israeli war on Iran (Iranian Press Center/AFP)In another remarkable scene, we get to sit in a March 4 Graham phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom Graham had actively conspired to maneuver Trump into simultaneously blowing up Iran and blowing up Trump's many promises to break the cycle of never-ending US wars in the Middle East. The call starts with Graham greeting "Bibi" and sycophantically saying how "impressed" he is with Netanyahu. In what sounds like a thinly-veiled boast for the benefit of the documentary's eventual audience, Graham adds, "I'm glad to be your friend."
That's nauseatingly entertaining, but what makes their ensuing strategy discussion so remarkable is that the infamously bellicose Netanyahu emerges as the relative voice of restraint. Graham tells Netanyahu that he intends to visit Trump in Florida to convince him to join Israel in its war with Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, but Netanyahu diplomatically tells Graham to take it easy.
UNSEEN FOOTAGE of Lindsey Graham on CALL with Netanyahu revealing plans to LOBBY Trump to BOMB Lebanon
BIBI: Glad you’re my FRIEND
GRAHAM: Going to try to get Trump to join with y'all in Lebanon… WOULD YOU LIKE THAT?
B: Concentrating right now on IRAN
G: Can always go back pic.twitter.com/9Wt0MCuEpq
“We’re concentrating right now on Iran," Netanyahu replies. "If we tell Hezbollah that we’re going all the way... we threaten them, but if we actually do it, then they have no reason not to go all the way against us. And right now that’s not our interest." Perhaps not wanting to fully spoil Graham's dreams of American service members being thrown into another conflict for Israel's benefit, Netanyahu offers, "We can do it later."
Another clip nicely illustrates just how wrong Graham and other promoters of the war on Iran have been about what would be be rapidly accomplished. In early March, as he's being driven across town, Graham tells documentarian Holder that, in "three or four weeks," the United States and Israel would "have them in a spot where they start losing control of some cities" and, with more open Arab involvement in the war, achieve "almost irreversible momentum."
The Iranian regime outlived Graham https://t.co/7KZ3fwbKAN
— 🏴☠️ (@calvinfroedge) July 26, 2026Five months later, no cities have come even remotely close to falling. Instead, outraged over a war of aggression launched on their country on several bogus pretenses, support for the Iranian government has been galvanized. That's been manifested in many ways, but none greater than what may have been the largest funeral in the history of the world, as millions turned out earlier this month for a multi-day state funeral for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Continuing its long-running pattern of violating international norms that put heads of state off-limits -- and furthering its corruption of what little remains of US government geopolitical morality -- Israel collaborated with the United States to kill Khamenei, his daughter, son-in-law, and 14-month-old granddaughter in February's opening assault.
In other footage reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Graham voices his disappointment that more Republican politicians aren't stepping up to promote the war on Iran, which quickly became the most unpopular major war in US history -- even less popular than what was observed in the worst polling on the Vietnam War. “Very few people are out selling this war from the administration. I’m shocked,” Graham says.
The last footage recorded by the documentary crew -- at a Columbia, SC bagel shop in June -- shows a Graham who's frustrated that Trump has signed a memorandum of understanding that was supposed to be a precursor to a lasting peace. “He’s letting this thing slip away,” Graham said. “I got to go talk to him.”
Tyler Durden Tue, 07/28/2026 - 05:11By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com
The fuel crisis in Russia has started to ease in recent days as some refineries have restarted operations, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday.
“The situation is gradually stabilizing, a number of oil refineries became operational again. The balance is better now, and the situation at fuel filling stations has considerably improved, including when it comes to supplying agricultural producers,” Russian news agency Interfax quoted the official as saying.
“The situation remains quite tense in some regions, especially in some regions in Siberia. We are effectively resolving issues of fuel supply manually at the federal headquarters with regions and companies,” said Novak, who added that the crisis “situation is temporary.”
Amid peak demand season, Russia has been suffering from gasoline and diesel shortages for more than two months now, as Ukraine’s drone campaign to strike Russian refineries forced many large processing sites offline in the spring and early summer.
Early this month, Russia banned diesel exports to protect its domestic supply, creating a ripple effect on the already tight global diesel market.
Since the spring, Ukraine has been expanding its offensive to cripple supply in Russia by targeting fuel supply routes and vessels, alongside a persistent campaign to hit Russian refineries and force them out of operation.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian attacks turned their focus on targeting Russia-linked vessels in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, with more than a hundred vessels hit by drones, per the Ukrainian military.
The Russian oil export terminals on the Black Sea have also gone offline in recent days, following Ukrainian attacks.
Russia's largest Black Sea oil export terminal, Sheskharis terminal at Novorossiysk, effectively went offline last week, just days after drone attacks shut down the neighboring Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal, tightening another artery that moves crude onto the global market.
The suspension of the CPC terminal loadings led to Kazakhstan cutting oil production, with output at Chevron’s giant Tengiz field reportedly falling by more than half as storage filled and producers were forced to reduce pipeline flows.
Tyler Durden Tue, 07/28/2026 - 05:00Guess who?... None other than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has touched down in the UK for his meeting with new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
"Volodymyr, you are the first head of state or government I have congratulated since taking office as Prime Minister. And that is no coincidence. It is intended to send a very clear message: We stand 100% with Ukraine," said Burnham.
The PM only took office last week, and Zelensky marks Burnham's very first international visitor. For Zelensky, Burnham is the fifth British prime minister since the Ukraine war started.
Naturally the first thing Burnham did on the foreign policy front was to pledge his "unwavering support" to Ukraine, "both through the war and beyond."
This is yet more affirmation of Burnham's intent to carry on with and expand on Britain's hawkish policies related to Russia and the Ukraine war which have persisted going back to Boris Johnson at the opening of the February 2022 conflict.
The UK was the earliest out the gate among Western powers to ship heavy weaponry to Kiev, and its support has only grown since.
Burnham while hosting Zelensky announced the UK is sharing the intellectual property of its "Stone Cloak" electronic jammers, which aim to interfere with Russian air defense systems, allowing drones and missiles to better penetrate Russian positions.
"Stone Cloak is the best of homegrown British innovation and proven on the frontline, and it will be vital to protecting our security in both our countries," Burnham said. According to more from the visit:
Burnham said the visit of the Ukrainian president was designed to "send a very clear message" about the UK's continued support.
"To put it simply, Volodymyr, I want you to know that we've got your back, you can count on me and you can count on us. You can count on the UK for as long as it takes," he said at a naval base in Portsmouth on Monday.
Zelensky, meanwhile, said Ukraine's relationship with the UK was "stronger than ever".
Addressing Zelensky, Burnham said: "I am personally with you 100%, Mr President, and I will honour every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full."
Burnham added that he intended to visit Ukraine "soon" following the "very warm meeting" between the pair.
The prime minister also warned Moscow "should be in no doubt of our resolve" and that the UK would "not backdown until we achieve long lasting and just peace for Ukraine."
Zelensky held his first meeting with Andy Burnham on HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth. pic.twitter.com/Ojk69Quhtg
— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 27, 2026Zelensky was hosted for the meeting aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth docked at Portsmouth on England's south coast. After the Monday events in the UK, Zelensky is headed to Washington to meet with President Trump.
Burnham said the leaders had "talked at length" about Ukraine's need for more interceptors to shoot down inbound Russian missiles, "particularly in terms of Ukraine protecting critical national infrastructure during the winters."
Tyler Durden Tue, 07/28/2026 - 04:15Authored by Chris Macintosh via InternationalMan.com,
Turkey is simultaneously dumping US Treasuries, deepening Russia’s energy embrace, rolling out a tax regime to poach capital fleeing the Gulf… and squaring off against an Israeli political class that now speaks openly of Turkey as an enemy. It’s strategic.
Turkey sold nearly all of its US Treasury holdings in March — cutting them from $16 billion to just $1.8 billion in a single month. The official narrative frames this as emergency reserve management amid a weakening lira and inflation running above 32%. But the mechanics of financial stress don’t explain the direction of travel. Nations don’t systematically dump the debt of their allies.
President Erdogan has been explicit.
In a recent address he cast Turkey as “one of the shining stars of the new era,” invoking the restoration of Ottoman-era influence across the region. Turkey vehemently opposes Israel’s operations in Gaza, and in Ankara’s strategic calculus, Washington and Tel Aviv are increasingly viewed as a single entity. The Treasury sell-off is as much a political signal as a liquidity operation. The Turkish government has smelt blood in the streets and wants to capitalise on the situation.
The energy relationship with Russia tells the same story. Rosatom’s Akkuyu nuclear plant — a build-own-operate project in which Russia retains ownership for decades — just received a further $9 billion in Russian financing, with $4–5 billion deploying in 2026 alone. Turkey has loudly advertised its renewable credentials and a 2053 net-zero target, but Akkuyu sits outside that narrative entirely. When it comes online it will supply roughly 10% of Turkey’s electricity and lock in a structural strategic dependency on Moscow that no solar panel cancels out. Turkey talks diversification; it acts with ruthless pragmatism.
The Iran conflict has handed Erdogan an unexpected opportunity on the capital side.
The disruption to Gulf Cooperation Council financial hubs — Dubai chief among them — has put mobile, internationally structured wealth back in play. Investors who relocated to the UAE for zero-tax treatment are now reassessing. Into that gap, Turkey’s parliament on recently passed Erdogan’s flagship fiscal incentive package — nine permanent structural reforms that together represent one of the most aggressive capital attraction plays of the decade:
0% income tax on foreign earnings for 20 years
1% inheritance tax on all wealth
Full citizenship from $400,000
2% one-off tax to repatriate overseas assets, no questions asked
9% corporate tax — permanent
0% tax on trading through Turkey
Business registration in one day via AI-assisted process
Machinery and equipment imports: duty-free, 0% VAT
Mortgage overhaul: 10% down payment, terms up to 25 years
The last item deserves particular attention. The mortgage reform isn’t just a financing tweak — it unlocks millions of first-time Turkish buyers who were previously priced out of the market.
That domestic demand surge lands at precisely the moment foreign capital begins flowing in under the new tax regime. Turkey’s residential real estate market was already undersupplied. The combination of newly bankable local buyers and inbound international capital chasing a low-tax domicile points to a meaningful price cycle ahead — at minimum in Istanbul and the coastal cities where foreign demand concentrates.
The architect of Istanbul’s financial hub ambitions goes back to at least 2009, when former Deputy PM Nazim Ekren was championing Atasehir as the anchor of Eurasia’s financial capital. Aran Hawker, who provided trading infrastructure to Istanbul’s exchanges in 2011, expects wealth repositioned not only from the GCC but from North America, Europe, and the UK — from people “not happy with political situations in those respective countries.” Istanbul Finance Centre transit trade income is now fully exempt from corporate tax through 2047.
The Greater Israel ShadowBeneath the fiscal and energy calculations runs a darker strategic undercurrent — one that Ankara is acutely aware of and Western analysts largely ignore.
The expansion of Israeli strategic ambition across the region, accelerated by the Gaza operation and the broader Zionist maximalist project, now has Turkey explicitly in its crosshairs.
The Bosphorus — the narrow strait connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, through which a significant share of global energy and grain trade passes — is not simply a Turkish asset. It is one of the most strategically significant chokepoints on earth. Control of it, or the ability to influence who controls it, is a prize that serious regional powers do not ignore.
Israeli political figures have begun to speak with unusual candour about Turkey as a threat rather than a competitor. Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar stated plainly:
“We must begin to treat Turkey as an enemy state.”
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett went further, framing Turkey in the same breath as Iran:
“A new Turkish threat is emerging. We must act in different ways, but simultaneously against the threat from Tehran and against the hostility from Ankara.”
These are not fringe voices. When a sitting minister and a former head of government use the language of simultaneous threat management for both Iran and Turkey, they are signalling a strategic posture — one that has obvious implications for NATO cohesion, for the future of the Bosphorus as a neutral passage, and for the stability of the broader region.
Erdogan reads this clearly. The deepening of Russian energy ties, the rejection of US debt, the cultivation of Ottoman-sphere influence — these are not reactions to Gaza alone. They are pre-positioning against a regional order that Turkey now judges to be hostile to its existence as a sovereign power.
The Greater Israel project, in its maximalist form, envisions territorial and political influence stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates. Turkey sits at the northern edge of that strategic horizon. Control or destabilisation of the Bosphorus would fundamentally alter the balance of naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea — a prize of the highest order for any power seeking regional hegemony. Whether or not one assigns full credibility to the maximalist reading, the signals from Israeli political leadership are sufficient for Ankara to treat the threat as real and plan accordingly.
A NATO member that sells US debt, builds Russian nuclear plants, courts capital fleeing Western disorder, and now faces explicit identification as an enemy state by Israeli leadership is not drifting. Rather, it’s repositioning on every front simultaneously.
The picture that emerges is coherent and accelerating….
Turkey controls the Bosphorus. It borders the Middle East, maintains NATO’s second-largest military, and imports the energy that geopolitical conflict makes more expensive — hence the inflation, the rate pressure, and the reserve burn. But Erdogan’s response is not to seek Western reassurance. It is to deepen the Russian energy anchor, signal alignment with the Global South’s reading of the Gaza conflict, position Istanbul as the beneficiary of Gulf instability and Western political dysfunction, and quietly fortify against a regional order that now names Turkey an adversary. The Treasury dump is one data point in a larger sequence. The Ottoman ambition is the frame. And the clock is moving faster than most investors realise.
* * *
Turkey’s repositioning is part of a much larger shift now reshaping the global economic and political order. In our special report, Clash of the Systems: Thoughts on Investing at a Unique Point in Time, a contrarian money manager explains the forces driving this transition, the risks they pose to your wealth and personal freedom, and how you can position yourself to stay one step ahead. Get instant access to the special report here.
Tyler Durden Tue, 07/28/2026 - 03:30Kazakhstan has resumed crude exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) on Monday after the operator reopened its Black Sea marine terminal and resumed accepting crude from producers following a week-long suspension triggered by drone attacks, Kazakhstan’s Astana Times reported.
Two tankers were loading crude from the Chevron-led Tengizchevroil project at the Novorossiysk terminal, while producers resumed delivering oil into the CPC pipeline system, Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said according to OilPrice.com. The ministry added that export operations would continue subject to ongoing security assessments.
The reopening follows last week’s suspension of crude intake and tanker loadings at the terminal after repeated drone attacks on vessels operating at or near the facility. Kazakhstan subsequently ordered producers to curb output to prevent storage facilities from filling after access to the export system was cut off.
Industry data cited by Reuters showed Kazakhstan’s oil and gas condensate production fell to 133,200 metric tons, or about 1 million barrels per day, on Sunday, down from an average 2.16 million bpd in June.
CPC separately confirmed pipeline operations resumed at 12:28 p.m. Moscow time. The ministry did not indicate how quickly production would return to normal levels.
The 1,500-kilometer CPC pipeline transports crude from Kazakhstan’s giant Tengiz oilfield across southern Russia to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and carries more than 80% of Kazakhstan’s crude exports. International producers including Chevron and ExxonMobil rely on the route to move Tengiz production to global markets.
The Chevron-chartered Suezmax tanker Asia was also positioned at the terminal on Monday, according to LSEG vessel-tracking data cited by Reuters. Chevron said it continues to monitor the situation at CPC but declined to comment further, the company told Reuters directly.
The disruption briefly removed more than 1 million bpd of Kazakh production from the market, adding another supply risk as global oil flows remain under pressure from disruptions affecting both the Black Sea and Middle East shipping routes.
Tyler Durden Tue, 07/28/2026 - 02:45The most recent phase of the Ukrainian Conflict has been characterized by the “war of attrition” that the US has been waging against Russia through Ukraine after Trump decided to “escalate to de-escalate”.
This has thus far taken the form of drone strikes against energy infrastructure, online retailers, and maritime shipping in the Black, Azov, and now even the Caspian Seas.
It’s this last-mentioned aspect that forms the basis of the present analysis following Ukraine’s weekend strikes on targets in the Caspian.
According to Ukrainian sources, their forces struck an offshore oil extraction platform, a cargo ship and cargo vessel that were sanctioned for their alleged role in the Russian-Iranian arms trade, and a missile boat. If confirmed, then this represents the most eastward expansion yet of Ukraine’s campaign against Russia’s maritime shipping after attacking its Black Sea Fleet over the years and recently causing enough chaos to suspend shipping in the Sea of Azov, which is linked to the Caspian by the Volga-Don Canal.
Of relevance, some of the oil that Russia produces there is shipped across that canal en route to Crimea and the global market, so targeting Caspian oil extraction platforms and suspending shipping in the Sea of Azov are part of a larger strategy. The plan appears to be to slash the Kremlin’s revenue, cause domestic fuel shortages with a view towards provoking political unrest, and exacerbate the attempted drone-enforced “blockade” of Crimea. This broad “southern front” is therefore very significant.
Casual observers from the West might thus be under the impression that the Ukrainian Conflict’s overall dynamics have shifted in Kiev’s favor as a result of the above-mentioned developments, but they’d do well to know that Russia has drastically ramped up its strikes against Ukraine’s Black Sea infrastructure.
This recently resulted in Ukraine suspending shipping across that naval corridor for the first time since 2023 in the most important achievement thus far of Russia’s new “systematic strike” campaign.
While Odessa remains out of Moscow’s reach, and there was never any attempt to capture it since the special operation began, the recent attacks against its infrastructure are clearly meant to demilitarize it (at least for now). After all, it’s from Odessa that Ukraine launches its naval drones against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, and it’s also where Ukraine receives some of its maritime arms imports. It’s therefore arguably long overdue for Russia to take its port out of operation as well as all of Ukraine’s other Black Sea ones.
The radical intensification of the southern front could lead to one of three outcomes:
the situation continues to worsen;
a partial ceasefire is reached for ending attacks against ships and maritime infrastructure (though it’s unclear whether it would apply to Crimea);
or NATO gets involved.
As regards the last-mentioned, it’s the least likely but still can’t be ruled out after Turkiye committed to providing maritime security guarantees for Ukraine, which could hypothetically take the form of “escort missions”.
The larger trend is that US-backed Ukraine’s newfound focus on targeting Russia’s “soft underbelly” in this new “war of attrition” has resulted in its own “soft underbelly” being targeted as well as a form of (arguably long-overdue) reciprocal retaliation that’s making the broader Black Sea region a “no-go zone”.
The heightened stakes associated with this latest phase of the conflict suggest that an even greater escalation might be inevitable, but it’s still possible that this could be delayed, if not outright averted.
Tyler Durden Tue, 07/28/2026 - 02:00