Mikhail

[Bloomberg @business]

Iran said it is halting talks with the US after President Donald Trump threatened fresh strikes over the actions of Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. https://t.co/smkT0s4dSq

[Open Source Intel @Osint613]

Trump to Iranian officials overnight on closing the Strait of Hormuz:

"You close it and you won't have a country. You won't even make it back to your fucking country."

Fox News.

[Polymarket @Polymarket]

JUST IN: Taiwan to stage five days of combat readiness drills this week, simulating a Chinese invasion.

[First Squawk @FirstSquawk]

CHINA’S BAD CONSUMER DEBT HITS $300 BILLION, RAISING GROWTH CONCERNS

OVER 10% OF CHINESE ADULTS FALL BEHIND ON DEBT PAYMENTS

[Bloomberg @business]

Authorities in Russia-occupied Crimea said they were suspending fuel sales at filling stations, limiting supplies to state services amid Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries. https://t.co/uA3iFqO9wL

[First Squawk @FirstSquawk]

FED SWAPS MARKET PRICES IN TWO RATE HIKES BY MARCH 2027 AS INFLATION RISKS PERSIST

[Mikhail @KosolapiMishka]

Let's be real. @realDonaldTrump made it clear that he needs Iranian oil. Now. So either he concedes on all fronts and they keep their enriched uranium or we 'liberate' Kharg.
Knowing @realDonaldTrump, it could even be both.
#polymarket #IranWar‌

[kristen shaughnessy @kshaughnessy2]

Yet another warning to watch your exposure in pensions, insurers, banks, and 401k’s.

A big European fund run by Bain Capital, a major private equity player, defaulted on its riskiest bottom slice of a big loan bundle (CLO)

The first one like this in Europe since the post-2008 fixes.

[zerohedge @zerohedge]

Trump still hasn't figured out that soaring memory prices are one of the biggest drivers of core inflation. But with iPhone prices about to jump $300, he will very soon

[David Shor @DYShor]

Israel does the heavy lifting — because its survival is hanging in the balance.

Israelis don’t care about gas prices.
They remember the gas chambers.

Israel won’t forget the lessons of October 7th, & no MOU drafted by the Iranians and negotiated by three Americans change that.

[Jason Brodsky @JasonMBrodsky]

The U.S. says the negotiations with #Iran's regime in Switzerland are going well while the Islamic Republic's Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters announces that the Strait of Hormuz is closed again. 🤷‍♂️

[The Kobeissi Letter @KobeissiLetter]

BREAKING: Iran's top joint military command officially releases a statement closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Full statement:

[Kalshi @Kalshi]

JUST IN: China's top AI models have overtaken US models in usage

[Israel War Room @IsraelWarRoom]

"Every problem in the Middle East tracks back to Iran...they are a destabilizing, dangerous, evil force."

Economic and military pressure had the regime on the ropes. Why take our foot off the gas?

[Kalshi @Kalshi]

JUST IN: Trump says if agreement is not reached with Iran, US will do things that won't make them happy

[Mikhail @KosolapiMishka]

@TRUTHONLYPOL @Polymarket honestly, polymarket is supposed to be a prediction market, not a gambling site. The true purpose of the system is to be an indicator of what's to come based on public consensus. This was a failure in that sense #polymarket

[OSINTdefender @sentdefender]

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGC-N) has once again closed the Strait of Hormuz, warning all vessels to not attempt to cross, following Israel’s refusal to withdraw from and strikes this morning on Southern Lebanon, with the following message being broadcast on maritime frequencies near the Strait by the IRGC:

“Since Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, the complete lifting of the naval blockade, and the withdrawal of American terrorist forces from the Persian Gulf and the region are among the main conditions of the agreement between Iran and the United States. The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until these conditions are met. All ships are requested, for the sake of their security and safety, not to approach the Strait of Hormuz. Any vessel that defies this directive will be targeted.”

[Rabbi Poupko @RabbiPoupko]

Have you seen the news about Israel attacking Egypt?

Me neither, because Egypt has not been attacking Israel.

100% of the countries that do not attack Israel are not attacked by Israel.

[Open Source Intel @Osint613]

JUST IN 🔴

Reports indicate warning shots were fired in the Strait of Hormuz area. According to radio communications, the IRGC warned all vessels: “Do not approach the Strait of Hormuz.”

This report comes from Iranian reporter, Ilia Hashemi

[daniel hanuka📟 🇮🇱 @LionsOfZion_ORG]

JD Vance said Israel was “built with American money.”

That sounds great to people who learned Middle Eastern history from campaign slogans.

But it is not history. It is political theater from someone who discovered Israel yesterday morning.

Israel was not built by an American check.

Israel was built by Jewish money, Jewish labor, Israeli taxes, Zionist institutions, loans, diaspora donations, Israel Bonds, German reparations, austerity, immigration, sacrifice, industry, agriculture, and people who did not wait for Washington.

Long before Israel existed as a state, Jews in the land were already building towns, farms, kibbutzim, schools, universities, banks, defense groups, factories, hospitals, roads, and national institutions.

Before “American aid,” Jews put coins into blue JNF boxes.
Before billion-dollar defense packages, Holocaust survivors built a country from tents, ration cards, sweat, and trauma.

In 1948, when Israel declared independence and five Arab armies invaded, America did not “build” Israel’s army. America recognized Israel, which mattered, but the U.S. also supported an arms embargo.

Israel survived its first war not because America built it, but because Jews fought for their lives with too little money, too little ammunition.

So where did the money come from?

From Jews in the diaspora.
From Keren Hayesod.
From the Jewish National Fund.
From Israel Bonds.
From Israeli taxpayers.
From loans.
From German reparations.
From austerity.
From exports, agriculture, factories, innovation, and people working like their lives depended on it.

In 1951, Israel launched Israel Bonds to raise money from Jewish communities and investors abroad. That was not foreign aid. That was a young state borrowing money, building infrastructure, and paying it back.

In 1952, Israel signed reparations with West Germany. That money helped the young state absorb hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors and immigrants while recovering from severe shortages.

And Israelis themselves paid the real price.

The austerity years were not a slogan. Israel absorbed mass immigration, built housing, roads, ports, schools, hospitals, factories, and an army — while citizens lived under rationing, taxes, shortages, and a controlled economy.

Israel was not born because America clicked “send payment.”

Yes, America later became a crucial ally.
Yes, American military aid is important.
Yes, real friendship deserves gratitude.

But there is a massive difference between helping an ally become stronger and claiming you built that ally.

American aid helped strengthen Israel.
It did not create Israel.

By the time U.S. aid became central to Israel’s defense, Israel had already been founded, survived wars, built institutions, absorbed millions of immigrants, and turned itself from a poor country under rationing into a serious economy.

That is the part Vance wants to erase.

Israel was not a Washington real estate project.
Israel was not a startup that got seed funding from America.
Israel was not a charity case with a flag.

Israel was a nation that came home, built before it had sovereignty, fought before it had enough weapons, absorbed refugees before it had enough houses, built an economy before it had enough foreign currency, and became strong before American politicians started taking credit.

Today, Israel is one of the world’s most advanced economies. Its high-tech, cyber, defense, medical, agricultural, and AI innovation help the United States and the free world.

That did not come from foreign aid. It came from human capital, education, military necessity, research, risk-taking, and Jewish survival instinct.

America is an important ally.
But America is not Israel’s parent.
America is not Israel’s owner.
And America does not get to erase 3,000 years of Jewish identity and 78 years of Israeli sacrifice with one cheap populist line.

Israel was built with Jewish money, Israeli hands, Israeli brains, and Jewish blood.

America helped.
Israel built.

There is a huge difference.