We know what’s coming and we are prepared.
🇺🇸💬🇮🇷❌🇮🇷 — 🧐 ISW on 𝕏:
"MORE: Ghalibaf publicly defended negotiations on Iranian state television on April 18, arguing that diplomacy with the United States, alongside military power, is necessary to secure Iran’s objectives. Ghalibaf also reportedly criticized hardline officials, including Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) member Saeed Jalili and hardline parliamentarian Amirhossein Sabeti, for their opposition to negotiations during a meeting with advisers, but his criticisms were likely implicitly directed at Vahidi.
US officials separately told Axios on April 20 that the US negotiating delegation thought it was “negotiating with the right people“ in Islamabad on April 11 and 12 but that the IRGC effectively told the Iranian negotiating delegation upon their return to Tehran that they ”don’t speak for” the IRGC. Senior regime officials, including former IRGC Intelligence Organization Chief Hossein Taeb, reportedly called the Iranian negotiating delegation back to Tehran after it surpassed its mandate.
A second US official told Axios that “we aren’t sure who’s in charge and neither do they.” This report is consistent with CTP-ISW‘s assessment that there is a division between Vahidi and his inner circle and members of Iran‘s negotiating team over Iran’s negotiations policy.
This report is also consistent with CTP-ISW’s assessment that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not played the role of cohering and arbitrating between various factions as his father used to do, which has likely exacerbated intra-regime fighting."
🔗 Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar)
Gavin Newsom caught in a massive federal money laundering scam
Newsom increased ambulance costs 300%, then requested reimbursements from the federal government, but it was fake
He’d then pay a different company a fraction of the cost and pocket the rest. Stealing billions
“One of the largest and most convoluted schemes in modern history has been discovered during a review of California's medical financial records”
“Investigators found that under Gavin Newsom's leadership, the Golden State has essentially been funneling taxpayer money from all across America to prop up California's own finances.
Genesis Plan started in 2022 and it revolves around the complex concept of intergovernmental transfers, which in simple terms is when a local hospital or county makes a transfer to the state Medicaid agency for payments of medical services such as ambulance rides
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After the transfers are made, the state can then request a matching amount of money from the federal government
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But Gavin ...
Leaked phone call from January 4, 2025 (3 days before the devastating Palisades Fire)
The call is between Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and John Alle, a property manager and whistleblower in the Pacific Palisades, Westlake and MacArthur Park areas
John Alle contacted Karen Bass to warn her about extreme fire risks due to weather conditions like high winds and dry brush
Karen Bass tells him to “read between the lines,” “hold tight,” and that “you will understand soon.”
She knew something was coming, almost like a planned fire (many believe the land grab)
This call is interpreted as her knowing serious fire danger was imminent but not wanting to discuss what was about to happen openly….
Very cryptic
🔗 Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes)
@CherokeeOwl 🦉
@BrettColdwell
California gas prices could spike as imported oil supply dries up, industry warns
California may soon have to battle other states for oil resources as its imported supply runs dry, a leading lobbying group has warned.
Jodie Muller, CEO of Western States Petroleum Association, said the limited amount coming into the Golden State means it will be pitted up against the rest of the US and foreign markets.
It comes as the last ship to leave the Strait of Hormuz for California was unloaded in Long Beach, marking the final barrels of oil from the crucial Middle East route until the war in Iran is resolved.
Full article . . 🔗
🌅 Market News Digest
05/10/23 - 05/11/23 EST
🔥 Top Stories
• US-Iran tensions escalate as Trump rejects Iran’s peace response, oil surges over 3.5% — fears of Strait of Hormuz disruptions intensify.
• Bitcoin hits $81,700 amid geopolitical turmoil and inflation hedging — historic highs and strong institutional interest.
• US proposes lifting Hormuz blockade, but Iran calls demands excessive; oil prices rally — ongoing Middle East conflict impacts global markets.
⛽ Oil & Energy
• Oil prices rise sharply after US-Iran rejection of peace proposals; US crude exceeds $95.50.
• Iran’s response to US peace plan deemed “realistic, positive” by officials; tanker crosses Strait of Hormuz.
• Saudi Arabia and China increase oil and coal exports amid supply concerns.
• Japan’s first Central Asian crude tanker departs Iran, signaling ongoing regional energy flows.
📊 Markets & Macro
• US stocks mixed; S&P 500 futures dip slightly, while tech giants like Alphabet ...
🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 Pentagon Says Iran War Cost $25 Billion. An Economist Says Try Trillions.
The Defense Department’s $25 billion price tag for Operation Epic Fury covers only missiles fired, planes flown, and equipment lost — and little else, University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers argues in a New York Times op-ed published Sunday.
The fuller accounting, he writes, runs into the hundreds of billions, and possibly trillions:
▪️ Geopolitical risk: Fed economists estimate heightened risk of this scale costs roughly $200 billion and leaves a million fewer Americans employed within a year
▪️ Interest rates: With rate cuts now off the table, the Fed’s likely response could cost another $200 billion in lost economic output
▪️ Stock market: Wolfers estimates the war has wiped roughly $3 trillion off S&P 500 valuations. Oil prices could be elevated through 2028.
▪️ Growth: Goldman Sachs projects U.S. GDP growth will be 0.5 percentage points lower — around ...
