War

March Madness

Plus: A seventh American has been killed in the Iran conflict, the U.S. is almost certainly responsible for school strike, how Lindsey Graham helped start the war, and more...

Eric Boehm | 3.9.2026 9:30 AM

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(Arash Khamooshi/Polaris/Newscom)

The world faces the most severe energy crisis since the 1970s, thanks to the U.S./Israeli war with Iran.

The war has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical choke point between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. A large portion of the world's oil supply flows through it, as do other critical items, from fertilizer to helium.

"In the whole written history of the strait, it has never been closed, ever," JPMorgan Chase analyst Natasha Kaneva told The Wall Street Journal. "To me, it was not just the worst-case scenario. It was an unthinkable scenario."

Oil prices have climbed from about $70 per barrel to over $100 per barrel since the start of March, as markets have responded to the potential for long-term shortages. Iraq is producing about one-third as much oil daily as before the war. Countries along the Persian Gulf have slowed or halted production, and a refinery in Bahrain was on fire Monday morning after being struck by an Iranian drone.

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Stock markets in South Korea and Japan fell sharply in early trading on Monday. America may be somewhat sheltered from the impact of the energy crisis, thanks to our own ample supply of oil and natural gas, but stocks are expected to fall and prices at the pump are up 17 percent since the war began.

Obviously, the longer the conflict in Iran lasts, the more significant the economic fallout will be.

A shipping CEO with tankers near Strait of Hormuz used two words a few hours ago about need for the US to "immediately", "urgently" open the Strait. Asked "does the White House understand what is at stake?"

— Erin Burnett (@ErinBurnett) March 8, 2026

Over the past year, Trump........

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