Iran's Ayatollah Is Gone: Region and Moscow on Edge - Jason Jay Smart

[TexasTowelie]

Operation Epic Fury is a multi-day US and Israeli strike campaign against Iran. President Donald Trump says the goal is to eliminate Iran as a threat and stop Iran’s nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is treating this as sustained wartime posture as the region braces for retaliation.

Will oil prices jump? The Strait of Hormuz is the global oil chokepoint. If Hormuz tightens, tankers back up, war-risk insurance rises, shipping costs surge, and oil prices spike before shortages even show up. This hits wallets fast, and it hits everywhere.

That spillover hits Russia and the war in Ukraine immediately. Moscow and Vladimir Putin have leaned on Iranian Shahed drones and related supply links, so pressure on Tehran can squeeze Russia’s strike capacity and logistics. At the same time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pushing for peace talks with Moscow, and any shift in Iran’s role can change Russia’s leverage, timing, and battlefield calculus.

And Hormuz is not the only oil pressure point. Reports around US action in Venezuela, including claims tied to Nicolás Maduro, add another layer of uncertainty over global supply just as the Gulf becomes the market’s tripwire. If both tighten at once, prices can move hard.

Then comes the power scramble. Maryam Rajavi and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) are pushing “provisional government” language tied to the MEK (Mujahedin-e Khalq). Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last Shah, is another exile figure competing for recognition in any post-regime scenario.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro: US & Israel Strike Iran
02:54 - Kremlin’s Panic: Russia’s Secret Iranian Lifeline
03:29 - Iran’s Collapse: Senior Leadership Wiped Out
04:17 - Energy War: Impact on Putin’s Oil Profits
05:27 - Power Struggle: The Race to Replace the Ayatollah
07:15 - Global Security: Israel and the Arab World React
08:36 - Iran’s Final Stand: Nuclear Threats and Civil War

[Klarkashton]

1. Viceroy Kushner? Peacemaker in chief?

Hahahahahaha