Let them eat enriched Uranium. Let Russia and the other Caspian nations set pricing. And the US Navy seamen will love the extended deployment.

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-said-prepping-for-extended-iran-blockade-says-tehran-better-get-smart-soon/

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-894591

One of those two says Trump said, "No more Mr. Nice Guy." The other said, short leash.

 

Iran's war economy

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/26/iran-shifts-economic-focus-to-essentials-amid-war-uncertainty 

A question seemingly beyond the interest of US MSM outletts, Iran's arming of its proxy groups, is it gratis, sale at a profit, or subsidized sale? Provision of arms with/without strings attached as to who and when to use them against Iran enemy interests. In effect, is it arming selected efforts that have arisen, or is it arming instigated agenda adherence of proxies?  Nobody in the US press seems to want to discuss it and break it down, much as MSM hesitates to emphasize the US being the greatest arms merchant in the world. The big death dealer, for cash. Often with strings attached.

 

meta manus china "singapore washing"

You can load the headline into your browser's search line, or just read here and here.

Does this story make you think Hegseth's War Department would be more secure in melding use of Meta with Palantir Technologies' stuff, than using Claude/Anthropic in the Palantir meld?

  If you want to run drones or surviel the American public, what options do you have? Sam Altman?

And, hello to Crabgrass readers in Singapore. 

Whoever Matt Royer is, some pundit I'd guess, he has put up an interesting tweet.

https://x.com/royermattw  click the image to enlarge and read it.

See,  https://emptywheel.net/2026/04/26/dinner-and-a-show-what-isnt-being-discussed-after-whca-nerd-prom/ for context.

Ballroom? There's an easy answer. Use a larger size of jockey shorts.

_________________UPDATE_________________

Ripe for the hype: Pick the Yahoo carried story that moves you the most, here or here. 

 

EmptyWheel aggregates two stories, an Israeli strike on an Iranian Caspian port, and Trump saying the US will interdict any ship passing through Hormuz Strait, after having paid Iran a transit fee.

https://emptywheel.net/2026/04/12/having-failed-to-win-a-marathon-sic-without-training-trump-announces-blockade-of-irans-blockade/

Israel Today reports on the Caspian strike impacting Russia-Iran trade. 

Turkish reporting on Iranian fuel refining:

Iran expects to restore most of its damaged refining and distribution facilities to 70–80% of pre-war capacity within one to two months, Deputy Oil Minister Mohammad Sadeq Azimifar said Sunday.

He added that part of the Lavan refinery, which was struck even after the ceasefire, will partially resume operations within approximately 10 days.

Lavan refinery to partially restart within 10 days

Azimifar, who also serves as CEO of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, told the Student News Network (SNNTV) that recovery work began immediately after each attack. 

Ukraine striking Russian drilling platforms in Caspian Sea. 

Israeli reporting Russia possibly is using Caspian trade to supply Iran weaponry:

Recently, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy stated that today, drone shipments are traveling in the reverse direction. Russia is sending Iran “Iranian” drones manufactured on Russian soil. The Ukrainian president’s statement fully withstands the test of plausibility, given the severe damage to Iran’s weapons production infrastructure. Additionally, recent reports (which we cannot verify) have emerged claiming that remnants of a drone manufactured in Russia were located in Dubai following an Iranian attack. One of the fastest possible routes for such shipments from Russia to Iran is via the Caspian Sea. Along Iran’s Caspian coast, several seaports operate. One of these is Bandar Anzali, located northwest of the city of Rasht. On March 18, the port area was attacked by Israel, and several ships were hit, including a military headquarters and a shipyard. As we assessed before the war, with high probability, Russia will assist Iran with intelligence and diplomacy. Is Russian assistance escalating, and is Russia attempting to establish an arms transfer corridor to Iran via the Caspian Sea? 

AP reporting: 

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranians reacted with a mixture of disappointment and defiance on Sunday after peace talks with the United States failed to reach an agreement following hourslong negotiations.

U.S. officials said the talks collapsed over what they described as Iran’s refusal to commit to abandoning its nuclear program. Iranian officials blamed the U.S. for failing to reach a deal, without specifying the sticking points.

The failure of the high-stakes talks in Pakistan after 21 hours casts doubt over the future of a fragile two-week ceasefire, due to expire on April 22.

While the fragile ceasefire seems to hold, the war is not over and uncertainty remains in the streets of Tehran where some residents were reluctant to speak to the media.

Iranians have been living in digital blackout for over a month after the internet was blocked shortly after the war started on Feb. 28. Since then, the population has been relying on state-controlled media, with a limited number of people having access to overseas satellite TV channels for access to information.

 All this sourcing is not unique, but it gives links EmptyWheel did not include, and relates to much EmptyWheel opined. Crabgrass recommends reading the EW item, and using above links if any reader wants further info.

 Noting Iranian refinery info was added to suggest Iran is less a refiner than a crude oil exporter, the Saudis for example being big both ways. It is possible refined oil products from Russia to Iran are traded on the Caspian, which would be civilian trade, but with military possibilities.

Dimona and related thoughts from former nuclear weapons inspector Scott Ritter.

 Most recently, this video. Days earlier, this. Sobering talk.

Both items from: https://www.youtube.com/@ScottRitterUpdates 

It is the kind of presentation that makes a person wanting talks going on now, to somehow succeed. It is incidental to a separate question of whose oil goes where, or is constrained to sit idle inside tankers within the Persian Gulf, with no passage out being currently available safe enough for the insurance industry to bless.

Ritter explains things to where the Crabgrass message is watch, then think. 

Dimona is hot stuff. Vulnerable hot stuff. Iran has seemed circumspect compared to what could have been. What may become, as days and weeks pass.

After negotiations fail, then what?

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN1cp0dYTDc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlArwg-2vvM

Who knows? And besides what, there is how much the cost? In lives and dollars.

And did anyone say, "forever wars?" Or "unending quagmire?"

What we know is before the first bomb, neither Bibi nor Hegseth said either phrase.