Clock is ticking
** Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced Operation Economic Outcast, the Trump administration’s ramped-up push to use economic tools to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war with Iran. Bessent said any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran “will be removed from the U.S. dollar system. The clock just started ticking.”
Iran responds
** Iran will not export “a single drop of oil” as long as the U.S. continues its “economic war” again the country, an Iranian official said Sunday. “If the economic war continues, not a single drop of oil will be exported٫ neither through the Strait of Hormuz nor from anywhere in the Persian Gulf,” Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, posted on X.
Tanker struck
** A tanker was struck by an “unknown projectile” off the coast of Saudi Arabia, according to UK Marine Trade Operations. A security officer reported the strike, which hit the main deck, causing a fire, as the ship was about 63 nautical miles off the coast of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, UKMTO said on Monday.
New gas find
** Iran has made a new gas discovery in the southern province of Fars, with the oil ministry reporting estimates of 7.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, of which 73% is recoverable, or 5.7 trillion cu ft. Iran has the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves, after Russia.
Ukraine
** As Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to resume peace talks with Ukraine, claiming that his forces “advance in all directions”, tens of millions of Russians face fuel shortages and hours-long queues at petrol stations – with occasional shouting and fist fights.
Canada
** Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday that U.S. trade demands confirmed Canada’s fears that U.S. President Donald Trump was seeking to dismantle its auto industry, as Trump threatened new 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel, and as Ontario Premier Doug Ford warned Canada could cut off electricity and critical minerals to the United States.
US Energy developments
** Nebraska clean energy advocates say any hopes by the Trump administration to restart talks around building the Keystone XL pipeline would ultimately fail because of ongoing landowner resistance.
** Tesla is reportedly discontinuing its Solar Roof tiles and telling third-party installers it’ll only supply solar panels going forward.
** Grid operator PJM takes a second shot at a reform that would allow new power generators to connect to the grid using the spare capacity available at existing facilities.
** Western ranchers push back on the Trump administration’s proposed oil and gas leasing rules that would shorten public comment periods and stop requiring agencies to notify landowners before drilling under their land.
** Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) says data centers’ lack of cooperation with the state and local governments led him to pause new project approvals, saying they’ve earned the widespread public backlash they’re now receiving.
** Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) will host a regional summit to look at whether advanced nuclear technologies can cut down on energy costs.
