🛢️ CARACAS — Repsol back in Venezuela just as Gulf supply remains unreliable. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: PDVSA-Repsol lands while Hormuz loadings stay minimal and SPR hits 1983 lows. European majors returning to Venezuelan crude signals markets are hedging against MOU collapse. For Spain, Repsol's move is energy security dressed as commerce. Watch whether this accelerates broader European repositioning away from Gulf dependence.
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🛢️ BAGHDAD — Iraq found a workaround to Hormuz, and Washington quietly helped. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: A bilateral US-Iraq shipping lane agreement near Oman is a pressure valve — it keeps Iraqi crude moving without resolving the blockade. For CENTCOM, it removes Baghdad as a friction point. For Tehran, a sanctioned corridor that
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🛤️ BAGHDAD — Washington is asking Baghdad to cut Tehran's land lifeline while Bessent calls Beijing. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Closing Iraq-Iran crossings targets the terrestrial supply corridor CENTCOM activated as a third front days ago. It also tests Baghdad's loyalty — Iraq trades heavily with Iran. If Baghdad complies,
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🎯 TRUMP — Iran at 10% missiles, but the deal window is what keeps guns quiet. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Trump's 10% missile, 15% drone figures are the first public US damage assessment — anchoring Iran's negotiating floor. Naming the threshold (strong deal + Hormuz) converts military leverage into a public auction.
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🇮🇱 TEL AVIV — Public relief is being mistaken for political stability. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Street-level optimism in Tel Aviv doesn't translate to a functioning government fast enough to matter. Eisenkot forming isn't Eisenkot governing — coalition talks take weeks. Meanwhile Katz already signaled a new Iran campaign. CENTCOM&