Escalated fighting
** Iran said Sunday it struck an unmanned U.S. vessel trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, a claim that the U.S. military dismissed as a “total lie.” The purported attack came a day after the U.S. military said forces struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to Navy warships being targeted with ballistic missiles. Experts called it a dangerous escalation after Iran’s previous attacks at sea targeted commercial shipping.
Iranian talk
** Iran said it will step up efforts to tackle problems created by U.S. sanctions that are crippling its economy, while a senior Iranian official warned of a “painful response” if it comes under further attack.
More talk
** Following the attacks, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Sunday that the U.S. should understand that the rules of the game have changed “before it is too late”. “From now on, any attack against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, heavier and more painful response,” he said in a speech published on his Telegram channel.
Russia
** Russia is still recovering from the Ukrainian attacks that started in June. Russian leader Putin confirmed 100 Russian ships were damaged but only about 10% of the country’s refineries are left to be repaired. Ukraine’s attacks affected Russia’s Black Sea route that handled more than 70% of Russian grain exports, along with shipments of some other commodities, including oil, steel and coal.
US energy developments
** A coalition of 23 organizations, led by the American Energy Alliance, sent a letter to members of the United States Congress urging strong support for Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval targeting Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Act preemption waivers granted to California.
** While most of the refineries in the U.S. are nearly at capacity, America has been closing refineries for decades — it has 128 fewer than it did in 1982. The newest was completed in 1977; roughly a quarter were built more than a century ago.
** As of Friday, the national average cost of a gallon of diesel fuel was $5.85, a new record. Almost everything you buy at a store gets there on a truck, and slightly more than three-quarters of all trucks run on diesel fuel.
** The U.S. Forest Service is closing 23 research stations across more than a dozen states as President Donald Trump looks to trim expenses and focus resources in Western states. None are in Oklahoma and work underway at the sites will move to other locations, Forest Service Associate Chief Chris French said in an interview.
** A federal judge temporarily blocks an EPA effort that would have let Congress and President Donald Trump overturn California’s clean car rules.
** Most states that set emissions-reduction goals for 2030 are not on track to meet them, and some are backtracking on targets as voters grow worried about inflation and the Iran war raises energy prices.
** New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) says she will propose a likely multiyear moratorium on data center development in the state, noting that such facilities would mean higher electricity bills for residents.
