I have a couple of Iran items for you today that go together like scotch and sauerkraut.
The first is that following the tit-for-tat attacks across the Persian Gulf over the weekend, American forces again lit up Iran’s southern coast on Tuesday night local time. The most recent reports indicate explosions in at least half a dozen cities stretching from Chabahar in the Gulf of Oman to Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island on the Persian Gulf side. Qeshm is home to an underground missile base.
Axios reported almost exactly 24 hours ago that President Donald Trump and his national security team were “considering waging limited strikes in the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Iran from reconstituting its radar and missile capabilities to attack ships.” And so here we are. Again.
OSINTtechnical is a reliable source for further updates on today’s strikes, if you’re interested.
Reports of numerous explosions this evening along Iran’s southern coastline, as the US appears to have resumed a strike campaign against Iranian forces. pic.twitter.com/O8QN36OYLv
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) September 1, 2026
Oil is back up to about $90.
I feel very smart right now having filled up the tank on Saturday. It’s something of a miracle — or at least adaptable logistics — that after six months of on-and-off war, mining the Gulf, etc., oil is still under $100. What happened to those scare stories of $150 or even $200 oil?
The second item comes courtesy of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who last week revealed his “economic D-Day” sanctions against the Islamic Republic, targeting the regime’s enablers — particularly in Communist China’s banking system. Today, when asked about developments in Iran, Bessent said to Fox Business, “We have zero tolerance. We are going to economically asphyxiate this regime.”
That’s great. I’m all for it. Strangle away. Economically, that is.
But then Bessent added: “My job is to make sure that they want to have a deal, and they will want to have one.”
Put this one right on top of the stack of things I don’t understand.
.@SecScottBessent: “We have zero tolerance. We are going to economically asphyxiate this regime.”
“My job is to make sure that they want to have a deal, and they will want to have one.” pic.twitter.com/47jKGqsofj
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 1, 2026
Bessent has been almost frighteningly effective fulfilling his promise to collapse Iran’s currency, the rial. As he reminded Fox Business in that clip, the rial stood at 800,000 to the dollar last spring, but as of last week was down to two million.
That’s created real-world hardships for the regime and the Iranian people:
“Small protests occurred outside petrochemical plant and a sugar cane factory where workers were made unemployed but received no salary for last six months,” Peter Baum reported on X today. “One person killed by IRGC outside the sugar cane factory.”
Furthermore, “Academic staff at numerous universities on strike as they too have not been paid for months.”
The trick is to keep asphyxiating the regime until Tehran can’t afford to pay the thugs who keep the people in line with beatings and mass-murders as required.
And these are the same theocrats Bessent thinks he can “want to have a deal?” And that after letting go of their throats, they’ll stick to it?
What I had thought back in March might be a days-long campaign to hurt the regime has gone on too long for a deal — and the stakes are too elevated.
Once you grab somebody by the throat, you’ve got to keep squeezing until the job is done.
Recommended: HE’S RUNNING: This Obama Advisor Just Denounced the DSA
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