Iran

In case you might have missed it, Saudi Arabia and Iran are teetering on the edge of open war.

For years, the two regional powers have been engaged in at least three proxy wars across the Mid-East.

In Syria, the Quds and the IRGC have been fighting to bolster Bashar al-Assad’s depleted forces since at least 2012, while the Saudis and the other Gulf monarchies have lent assistance to the various Sunni rebel groups fighting to destabilize the government in Damascus.

John Limbert does some much needed threat-deflating regarding Iran:

The facts do not support the fearmongers. Their warnings of “Iranian hegemony” and a “new Persian Empire” have no basis in reality.

Before Palin endorsed him, Trump was on stage babbling about Iran and Yemen (starting at around 16:40):

Israel’s defence minister has stated that Iran is a bigger threat to Israel than ISIS, saying that Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and “terror infrastructure” make them Israel’s number one enemy. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon told a conference in Tel Aviv that “Iran is our main enemy,” and faced with having to choose between Iran and ISIS in an open conflict, he would “prefer ISIS.” RT.com reports: The logic seems simple, as IS will be eventually be defeated, while Iran continues to pose a threat with its new rapprochement with the West.

Submitted by Gail Tverberg via Our Finite World blog,

A person often reads that low oil prices–for example, $30 per barrel oil prices–will stimulate the economy, and the economy will soon bounce back. What is wrong with this story? A lot of things, as I see it:

1. Oil producers can’t really produce oil for $30 per barrel.