Analog Brief: focused daily briefings on political, economic, and strategic developments.

The oil market initially treated the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a crisis that economic self-interest would contain. But the Houthi threat to shipping in the Red Sea changed that calculation: with two strategic chokepoints now at risk, markets could no longer assume that disruption would remain limited.

In a video commentary published by The Daily Signal, Victor Davis Hanson argues that the approaching US midterm elections are pushing Donald Trump towards a final military offensive against Iran—and a plan to transfer responsibility for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to America’s allies.

Europe has no shortage of talent, wealth, or history. Yet despite its immense advantages, the continent is losing economic and geopolitical momentum. Why?