Ah, the War with Iran: For the ninth night in a row, the USA bombed Iran. Iran continues to essentially close the Strait of Hormuz, plus, Houthi allies again have indicated that they might block Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the other main oil route .  Combine, 27% of world petroleum passes through these straits. I asked Google AI:  Will the U.S. invade Kharg Island? As of July 2026, there is no official date or definitive plan announced for a U.S. invasion of Kharg Island . President Donald Trump has publicly floated the idea of seizing the island—which handles about 90 percent of Iran's crude oil exports—but military planners and officials are still weighing the logistical risks and strategic fallout of such an operation. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] Current Status: Trump has hosted Situation Room meetings to discuss potential ground troop deployments and the possible seizure of energy infrastructure. While no timeline has been set, Trump stated in mid-June that the U.S. will be taking the isl...

Well, Iran and U.S. Memorandum of Understanding representatives met on Sunday, and again today....but issued conflicting statements as to what was discussed .  And in case you were wondering, there are three spellings for the mountain resort where this is occurring:  Bürgenstock, Burgenstock and Buergenstock, the latter one being the English version. I gave most of following numbers last week, but here is Time magazine's accounting of the U.S.-Iran War by the numbers , since 28February2026. Killed. Iran 3,636, but 2,100 were civilians. Lebanon, 4,000, but over a million displaced. USA, 13 service members, but 400 wounded. Israel, a few dozen defense forces, but 39 citizens. Global economic impact:  $2.2 trillion.  Damage to Iran economy, $270 billion. Cost of Operation Fury, $29 billion according to Defense Secretary Hegseth, but some in the media have speculated that the actual amount should be closer to $50 billion. U.S. fired more Patriot missiles in the first fo...