Iran's Hormuz Shakedown

On tonight’s show I’ll be discussing the latest developments in the Iran war, including a potentially major agreement between Iran and Oman over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The arrangement could effectively give Tehran control over ships entering the Persian Gulf. Iran says there won’t technically be tolls, but ships would pay a “service fee” for security, staffing and environmental costs, with the revenue divided equally between Iran and Oman. Reopening the strait would also reportedly depend on the United States ending what Tehran calls its blockade of Iranian ports.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Houthi allies say they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in a single day as part of their maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. And here at home, water and wastewater systems in at least 12 states have been hit by cyberattacks, with Iran reportedly the prime suspect. The attacks can change passwords, disable alarms and blind utility operators. But Trump has already declared that Iran isn’t responsible -- so what does that do to the investigation?

I’ll also be looking at the Trump administration’s strange decision to lift sanctions on Iraq’s Fly Baghdad airline and two of its planes. The airline was sanctioned for allegedly supporting Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, the Quds Force and Iranian proxy groups, although sanctions remain on the man previously identified as its owner.

Then there’s the increasingly bizarre Reflecting Pool prosecution. A National Park Service employee apparently took a knife to the pool himself, suggesting that cutting the material may actually have helped rather than damaged it. The defense is now asking for the case to be dismissed with prejudice. And according to The New York Times, Jeanine Pirro confronted Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in the Oval Office, accusing him of misleading Trump and promoting a cover story to conceal his own mistakes.

Trump is also trying to stop the BBC from obtaining details about the finances of his business empire. He’s suing the network for between $5 billion and $10 billion, but apparently doesn’t want the BBC to see the financial evidence it would need to defend itself.

We’ll also turn to Ukraine, where Russia launched another massive overnight attack involving 28 missiles and 115 drones, killing at least 17 people and injuring 44. Ukraine is running dangerously low on interceptor missiles as North Korea reportedly prepares to send Russia another missile unit, including as many as 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers.

At the same time, we’re learning that Ukraine asked the Biden administration for permission to manufacture Patriot missiles domestically, but Biden refused. Had he agreed, Ukraine could be producing the interceptors it desperately needs today. And in Germany, police found a drone carrying explosives near Ukrainian cargo planes at Leipzig/Halle Airport, while another object struck a cargo aircraft that later landed with minor damage.

Finally, I’ll have an update on the Air Force One story. Eric Trump says a different retired Air Force One will go to Trump’s future presidential library and hotel in Miami. So what happens to the new plane Trump is spending so much money refurbishing? Does he eventually get that one too? Eric also claimed that lots of presidents have Air Force One planes at their libraries. In fact, Reagan is the only one.

00:00 Streaming experiment and technical problems
05:40 Monday’s Reflecting Pool lawyer interview
12:32 Iran and Oman’s proposed Strait of Hormuz deal
15:58 Iran says the United States must end its blockade
16:28 Houthis attack another Saudi oil tanker
18:02 Cyberattacks hit water systems in 12 states
23:55 United States lifts sanctions on Fly Baghdad
25:36 Reflecting Pool case and dismissal with prejudice
31:06 Jeanine Pirro reportedly blames Doug Burgum
33:56 Trump tries to block BBC access to his finances
35:44 Russia’s massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine
35:59 North Korea sends Russia more missiles
38:39 Biden refused Ukraine a Patriot production license
40:18 Explosive drone found at a German airport
40:56 Trump, Eric Trump and the new Air Force One
46:54 After-show begins
47:13 My terrible Restoration Hardware couch
48:45 Semtex reportedly found on the German airport drone
50:36 Michigan’s Senate primary and the failure of polling
56:10 Where in the world is Mitch McConnell?
56:52 SpaceX crashes into the moon and lunar litter
1:02:46 Fake TikTok accounts and impersonator scams
1:09:07 Russia’s provocations across Europe
1:10:13 Streaming, transcripts and artificial intelligence
1:11:03 Dinner, tomato tart and overly sweet American bread
1:13:16 Remembering to maintain my sourdough
1:18:51 Finding the small sourdough starter method
1:20:23 Maintaining a 60-gram sourdough starter
1:22:12 Previewing Monday’s interview with David Hearn’s lawyer
1:25:13 Sign-off