01 / The oil war
Saudi Arabia shut the pipeline
that bypasses Hormuz.
Drones launched from Iraq hit the East-West line on Sunday, Sept. 13, closing the route that moved Saudi oil to the Red Sea around the strait. Oil rose more than $3 a barrel; the outage puts roughly 4% of world supply at risk.
In Ireland, Trump told Zelenskyy to stop hitting Russian diesel refineries — “that’s hurting the world,” he said, with U.S. diesel at $6.
September 14, 2026 · Five stories, illustrated
The bypass normally carries about a quarter of what Hormuz moves. Diesel’s refining margin touched a record $108.02 a barrel intraday — about $2.57 a gallon — with U.S. distillate stocks at 28.6 days of supply the week ending Sept. 4.
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The Houthis reached
the strait every Suez-bound ship uses.
Houthi forces took Mokha on Sept. 11 and said they took Perim Island the next day, completing a coastal offensive that killed 1,500+ soldiers. New missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia followed on Sept. 13 — a projectile fell in al-Tawwal governorate near the border, wounding two.
The month-long coastal offensive killed 1,500+ soldiers. Perim holds a 1.85 km runway built in 2021 — its condition is unknown, and the Houthis have no manned aircraft to use it. Oil through the strait fell to 4.1 million barrels a day in 2024, from 9.3 million in 2023. Coastlines: Natural Earth 1:10m; points: Wikidata.
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A projectile hit an Iranian ship,
and no one has claimed it.
The strike off Hengam Island early Sept. 13 killed 1 crew member and wounded 4. Asked if the U.S. did it, Trump said “I don’t want to say” and smirked; the Qeshm governor blamed a “terrorist enemy” without naming the U.S.
- The war begins
U.S. and Israel strike Iran; Hormuz shuts to normal traffic
- The talks window expires
Only 10 to 12 ships a day cross afterward
- “Tanker for tanker”
U.S. drones hit two Iranian tankers; a 40-ship convoy crosses
- The pipeline
Drones from Iraq hit the East-West line, forcing its closure
- The ship
A projectile hits an Iranian container ship off Hengam Island
The strike killed 1 crew member and wounded 4. Hengam lies 1.2 miles south of Qeshm Island. Asked if the U.S. did it, Trump said “I don’t want to say” and smirked; Centcom, which names hulls within a day for its own strikes, has issued no release for this one.
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The Kennedy Center warns
it could close within weeks.
A 57-page packet to trustees before Tuesday’s board meeting warns of “certain financial collapse” — payroll and maintenance contracts at risk, 75 to 175 of the remaining 300 positions gone in a full shutdown. The papers argue adding Trump’s name may be the only way out.
Ticket buyers were down about 70% against the same period in each of the prior three years; fall subscription sales fell about $1.6 million — roughly 36% — against the prior year. The $37.2 million operations line was already cut 17.2% from fiscal 2025, and a federal judge enjoined the shutdown May 29. Figures are from the 57-page trustees’ packet reported by The Washington Post.
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Trump rejected the slowdown
the labs asked for.
A day after the heads of Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI and Google DeepMind backed a pause, Trump blamed “negative forces” for the warnings and named no guardrails he would support — saying the U.S. must not cede its lead to China.
- Trump, in Ireland
Blamed “negative forces” for the warnings and named no guardrails he would support
- Speaker Johnson
Rejected an emergency moratorium: “We cannot put a moratorium on this because China will overlap us.”
- Hakeem Jeffries
Made AI the top item for the Tuesday, Sept. 15 caucus: “We should take decisive action now.”
- Gov. Spencer Cox, R-Utah
Broke with Johnson — wants “a much bigger role” for Washington, calls Congress’s response embarrassing
70%of registered voters oppose AI data centers in their communities — a July Fox News poll
The day before, the heads of Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI and Google DeepMind had all backed a slowdown. Xi Jinping is due at the White House later in September; PBS reports AI is likely on the agenda.