Diesel Crack Hits ALL-TIME HIGH — Economic NIGHTMARE Incoming (Kim Iversen)

Trump declares the Strait of Hormuz "New US Territory" — and insists there are no talks with Iran, none scheduled, while the blockade stays in "full force." Kim breaks down the competing realities: an Israeli Channel 14 correspondent claims Iran has lost the Hormuz battle outright, with 15 million barrels a day moving through tankers, covert Fifth Fleet escorts, and bypass pipelines, oil holding at $85–90 — while at home the Guardian reports the highest August gas prices ever recorded, the diesel crack tops $100 a barrel for the first time in history, and the Washington Post reveals the Pentagon is quietly evaluating whether to shrink the US military footprint in the Gulf rather than rebuild bases "battered by months of Iranian strikes." So who's actually winning? And Jared Kushner explains what Iran must do to get a deal: become "a real country — no nuclear weapons and no funding terror in the region." Kim lets the irony speak for itself.



[Posted at the SpookyWeather2 blog, August 20, 2026.]