Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy Command claimed on Monday that 11 oil tankers caught fire or sank in the Strait of Hormuz in the past nine days. “From October 25 (the date of [United States] Commander CENTCOM Brad Cooper’s show visit to the Strait of Hormuz) to today (nine days), 11 violating oil tankers have been set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz, and some have sunk to the depths of the sea,” the IRGC Navy stated on X. In addition, CENTCOM revealed over the weekend that 144 vessels have been redirected in the strait since the start of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) CEO Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber (pictured) said on Monday that global oil reserves were reduced by nearly one billion barrels amid the Iran crisis and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking at Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC), the executive noted that shipping and logistics costs have climbed to more than 30% of the price per barrel of oil, compared to just 5% before the war. Furthermore, Al-Jaber stressed that diesel inventories in some markets dropped to their lowest levels in 35 years for this time of year. “This new reality means we need expanded strategic storage and flexible refining capacity closer to consumer markets,” the CEO added.

NN: Don’t let them fool you. Any talk of a deal with Iran is a stall strategy to buy Iran time to build nukes. Keep you eye on the money ball. Their is not enough oil being produced and not enough oil refined to meet demand!

By Nick Guarino |

The Trump administration informed its allies in the Persian Gulf to prepare for “short, intense” attacks on Iran as soon as November 4, a day after the midterm elections in the United States, MS NOW reported on Friday, citing three senior Gulf Arab officials.

1.The Race Is On

Iran’s leaders, in my assessment, have reached a dangerous conclusion: their best hope of surviving an American attack is to acquire and demonstrate a nuclear weapon before Washington and Jerusalem can stop them. That is the race now unfolding—and I believe the timetable is measured in hours and days not weeks, months or years.

I have received from confidential sources information, which I cannot reveal, revealing that Tehran is devoting extraordinary resources to an accelerated nuclear-weapons development effort. Its a strategic calculation by a desperate Iran that deserves urgent attention: Iran sees nuclear deterrence as the ultimate guarantee against regime change. Its a matter of the Ayatollahs survive and their continuing control of Iran.

2.The North Korea Lesson

Look at North Korea. Its nuclear arsenal has preserved Kim You Num Chucks hold on power and lowered the risks and costs of military intervention against the regime. Pyongyang remains sanctioned and threatened, but the existence of nuclear weapons has changed the calculus. Where at one time their very survival was in doubt. Their Nukes guarantee they remain in power with a nuclear bargaining chip. Iran is watching closely the lessons and benefits of being a nuclear power. If Tehran can survive long enough to demonstrate a nuclear weapon, its leaders believe they can survive and compel fear and respect from its adversaries. To them they have to get nukes before its to late. The worlds only clued in leaders Trump and Bebe of Israel understand the grave dangers of a Iran with nuclear weapons. And the fact they are getting very very close to nuclear breakout.

President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin (Bsbe) Netanyahu have repeatedly identified Iran’s nuclear capabilities as a central security concern. My reading is that they are a narrowing the window in which to act. Both leader understand Iran has accelerated it nuclear development program. The time to act is now.

3.Two Political Clocks

The American midterm elections are November 3. Even if the balance of Congress changes, the new members do not take office until January 3, 2027. That creates a political interval during which Trump continues to work with the current Congress. It does not suspend congressional oversight, the War Powers Resolution, or constitutional limits on presidential action. But reality is Trump still has the veto power which means its game on.

In Israel, Netanyahu remains prime minister during coalition negotiations following the October 27 election. The early tallies reported by Bloomberg and Reuters showed his bloc is ahead of its principal rival but as usual in Israeli elections short of the 61 seats needed to form a government. My expectation is that Netanyahu will retain power and ultimately assemble a coalition. Israel’s coalition process automatically grants a caretaker prime minister full authority. Like Trump he has at least a 3 month window to act.

4.Not Another Limited Strike

My forecast is that, when not if war resumes, the United States and Israel will undertake a lighting fast shock and awh air campaign on a scale far beyond the previous exchanges—potentially among the largest since World War II. For a fact the first military strikes will take out Iran’s missile and drone infrastructure, their numerous hardened underground facilities, command networks. Then will come waves of attacks on Iran’s electric grid, water distribution system, damns, bridges, roads and the strategically important oil fields, pipelines and oil-export assets, including Kharg Island. Such an operation will also target civilian infrastructure like bridges, roads, dams and power systems where they are used for military purposes.

Their are numerous credible reports many verified of massive U.S. attack aircraft movements, cargo planes full of bombs and military supplies, regional missile-defense deployments including Patriot missile systems for Israel. Arsenals of bunker buster bombs and a carrier strike group are heading toward the region. It is obvious the US and Israel are gearing up for a massive attack on Iran.

5.The Gulf States Will Not Be Spared

Iran’s response as threatened will not be confined to Israel or American bases. Tehran will hit civilian targets with drones and rockets in the gulf states and Israel, disrupt commercial shipping and strike oil fields, pipelines, refineries, and loading terminals across the Persian Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz will be the focal point of Iran’s attacks resulting in a energy shock like never seen before. Even just the threat of sustained disruption has send freight, insurance, crude oil, and refined-product prices sharply higher. A all out attack on oil ships will shoot oil prices to the moon.

Our oil-price forecast is stark: Brent could reach $150 a barrel, with $200 possible in a severe, prolonged disruption. The magnitude and duration would depend on how much supply is actually lost, the ability to reroute exports, emergency stock releases, and the length of the fighting. This war has been going on for close to two years. Emergency stockpiles are just about exhausted.

6.Big Oil’s Windfall

As consumers confront expensive gasoline, diesel, and transportation, major integrated oil companies are reaping extraordinary refining margins and trading gains. Bloomberg’s October 30 reporting on ExxonMobil described record oil-refining profits amid war-driven fuel-price spikes. The contrast is unmistakable: a global energy emergency can be financially devastating for households and businesses while generating exceptional profits for parts of the petroleum industry. Refinery crack spread margins (the price they pay for a barrels of oil and the amount of profits after refining) are the highest ever. That does not mean every oil company profits equally, But the more refined products a oil company can produce the more profits. For some refiners every $100 barrel oil its process it making $250 a barrel in refined products. A profit of $150 per barrel.

7.The End Is Near

This is the confrontation I believe is approaching and soon: Iran is racing to establish a nuclear deterrent by building a nuclear arsenal.; Trump and Netanyahu are weighing how to prevent them from going nuke; against the Gulf’s energy systems exposed to a devastating retaliation. Iran may calculate that it needs only to endure one more assault. Washington and Jerusalem may calculate that allowing Tehran any more time would make the next confrontation far more dangerous. Worst case like N. Korea one fine day the world could soon wake up to a nuclear Iran as they do a product demonstration. With a bright flash like a 1000 suns, a tremor the size of a earthquake and a mushroom cloud soaring 40,000 feet in the air.

The race is on. In my assessment, the decisive period begins after the American midterms. If the shooting starts as I believe it will, the consequences will not stop at Iran’s borders. They will be felt in oil markets, at gasoline pumps, in factories, and in household budgets around the world.

8.Source Material and Reporting Notes

Bloomberg, October 28, 2026: Israeli election reporting supplied for the related Netanyahu editorial; early bloc projections and coalition uncertainty.

Reuters, October 28, 2026: Israeli election coverage supplied in the conversation; Netanyahu’s caretaker status and Iran remarks.

Bloomberg, October 29–30, 2026: oil-market coverage referenced in the editorial research.

Bloomberg, October 30, 2026: “Exxon Reaps Record Oil-Refining Profits on War-Driven Gasoline, Diesel Spikes.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-30/exxon-reaps-record-oil-refining-profits-on-war-driven-gasoline-diesel-spikes

Wall Street Journal, October 2026: reporting discussed in the research on potential renewed U.S. military action against Iran; exact operational details are not independently verified here.

Author’s confidential-sources account and forecasts, October 30, 2026: unverified intelligence claims, anticipated campaign scale, timing, retaliation, and $150–$200 oil-price scenario.

The Trump administration informed its allies in the Persian Gulf to prepare for “short, intense” attacks on Iran as soon as November 4, a day after the midterm elections in the United States, MS NOW reported on Friday, citing three senior Gulf Arab officials. According to the report, one of the officials claimed that the Gulf states are calling for de-escalation and that it would not be surprising if some of Washington’s Gulf allies pushed back against the Trump administration’s plans to strike from the bases in their countries. Previous reports also claimed that the US warned its Gulf allies about a military campaign after the midterm elections, and even reportedly moved its troops off bases in the Middle East in preparation for an escalation, while an additional aircraft carrier is expected to join an armada of roughly 20 warships in the region next month

NN:  See special report titled: Iran’s End is Near

NN: The losses to hacker attacks keep getting bigger and bigger. And it will get worse as quantum computers get better and proliferate. The really bad news is Artificial Intelligence is figuring more and more in  this kind of attacks.

Binance uncovers additional breach points after hack

Binance said on Friday that its investigation into a security incident had uncovered additional breach points, expanding on initial findings that suggested a compromised laptop may have been involved. The cryptocurrency exchange described the incident as a “complex attack” and said it was working with law enforcement while continuing to gather facts. Binance added that unauthorized outflows stopped when it suspended withdrawals and that around $3 billion in affected assets had been frozen through coordination with partners. “We are still on track towards the expected timeline to resume the withdrawal service in 45 hours. Deposits remain unaffected,” Binance said, adding that it “will continue to provide further updates through official Binance channels as more verified information becomes available.”

Israel’s internal security and counterintelligence service, Shin Bet, said on Thursday that concerns about alleged voter fraud in the latest legislative election did not originate from a political actor, but from intelligence it collected. In a statement, Shin Bet insisted that the only person with access to information about those concerns before the election was Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg. It added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition politicians Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Lapid were informed only on Wednesday by the agency’s chief David Zini. Shin Bet said that an investigation is still ongoing. It added that the probe is “focused and limited in scope, and does not cast aspersions on or accuse an entire sector that went out to vote democratically and legally”

NN: Reliable information indicates that Qatar and Turkey funded $60 million dollars into payoffs and bribes to bring out the Arab vote. 

This is all about our oil trade and Iran’s final days

Benjamin Netanyahu was supposed to be on his way out. Instead, Israel’s October 27 election has left him in office, with his Likud party still the largest in the Knesset and his right-wing bloc well ahead of its principal rival. The headline is not that Netanyahu has already secured a new coalition government. He will soon. The headline is that his opponents expected a decisive repudiation and did not get one.That though Bebe would be out!

With roughly 70% of ballots counted Wednesday morning, Bloomberg and Reuters reported projections of 54 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc, 47 for Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc and 19 for Arab parties. Sixty-one seats are required for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Those numbers can still change as special ballots are counted. But they already tell a story: Netanyahu remains Israel’s dominant and ultimate political survivor.

Coalition arithmetic is not a technical footnote in Israeli politics; it is the game. No party has ever won an outright Knesset majority. The president consults parliamentary factions and selects the lawmaker judged most likely to assemble a coalition—not automatically the leader of the largest party. Netanyahu has a powerful negotiating position, and a successful coalition almost guaranteed. If talks fail, another election is possible which Bebe will win hands down. In the meantime, he remains caretaker prime minister.

As a footnote the remaining ballets to be counted are mostly Military and they usually are overwhelming supporters of Netanyahu. He could gain as many as 4 seats putting him within 3 seats of the coalition he needs. No one else comes even close. After a lot of blow and go by the lefty loser Bebe will remain prime minister of Israel. the only two world leaders that understand and are willing to stop the grave Iranian nuclear threat are still in a position to end them… Its a win!

Then there is Donald Trump I call him a friend in high places. Trump publicly endorsed Netanyahu twice and his endorsement helped the prime minister’s performance. Trump is appreciated and very popular among the most Israelis Netanyahu, for his part, used election night to emphasize their partnership and the prospect of confronting Iran together. The friendship is not subtle. It is the central political image of this election: two leaders who know they have unfinished business in Tehran.

Trump also understands political theater. Netanyahu speaks fluent English, is comfortable before American cameras and knows how to deliver a message in a form that plays well on television and social media. Eisenkot Bebe’s rival whose English sucks and he looks and dresses like a bus driver. Israel is a world class player and communicating is essential to survival. Eisenkot a former military chief, offers a very weak and public persona, has no international experience. That contrast matters and is understood by Trump, who prizes forceful communicators and recognizable personalities. Any claim that Washington is actively pressuring specific Israeli parties to join Netanyahu’s coalition are true.

The deeper message is being sent to Iran. You will not be allowed to have nukes. Tehran may have hoped that Israeli voters would remove Netanyahu or that the American midterms would constrain Trump. Neither outcome are true. Its little more then wishful thinking in Tehran who knows the regimes only chance of survival is to get nukes. Netanyahu has survived his latest political test; Trump remains in the White House and will be their for two more years. Plenty of time to finish off Iran. The two leaders are openly signaling that Iran remains at the center of their strategic agenda. Whether renewed strikes occur is a decision, not a certainty because its still up to Iran to decide. Tehran has taken reckless course and building its strategy on the expectation that political opponents of Bebe and Trump will make their problem disappear.

Special ballots from soldiers, hospitals and diplomatic posts remain to be counted. Such votes have always favored the right. I believe Netanyahu is guaranteed to gain two to five seats—and cannot lose any—go beyond the available tally. The stronger argument is simpler: the election has not delivered the defeat Bebe adversaries sought, and the final count may yet improve his bargaining position.

Here is my assessment: Bibi is back—soon with a completed coalition agreement, with momentum, incumbency and a powerful friend in Washington. Iran, in my view, has badly miscalculated. Tehran may have counted on an Israeli election that would remove Netanyahu and an American midterm election that would restrain Trump. The Israeli vote has not delivered the decisive change Iran might have hoped for, and the U.S. result remains unknown. But either way it goes on election day in America Trump survives. Whatever happens in Washington, the Iranian leadership cannot assume that the military pressure will disappear. Netanyahu remains prime minister while coalition negotiations proceed, and Trump has publicly spoken of finishing the confrontation. In my judgment, Iran is running out of room to gamble on political rescue. It pays to have friends in high places—and Bibi has one in the White House.

Sources and reporting notes

Reuters, October 28, 2026, report on Netanyahu and Eisenkot’s rival claims after the election (source text supplied for this editorial).

Bloomberg, October 28, 2026, election tally and coalition analysis (source text supplied for this editorial).

Editorial judgments about Trump’s media preferences, coalition prospects and Iran’s calculations are opinion, not verified election outcomes.

The United States has warned several Gulf Arab countries to prepare for a short, intense military campaign against Iran following the US midterm elections, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Sources said that American forces are restocking munitions, positioning a Patriot missile defense system, and preparing bomber aircraft for potential strikes.

These preparations follow previous reports that Washington and Israel developed plans of targeting Iranian infrastructure, while US President Donald Trump previously said that a final decision remains open between pursuing military action or securing a permanent diplomatic agreement.

NN: Iran again has badly miscalculated. The Israeli election were decisive Bebe won (with a lot of help from his BFF Trump)  he will build a coalition  and remain in power The US midterms will not save them either. The Republicans will do better than the self-serving pollsters are reporting. And  regardless of the outcome America is coming to get them. And liberal lefties with no balls will not stop Trump. Iran has little time left. Crazies never know when to quit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Sunday that there are indications that Iran may try to “disrupt” the upcoming elections in his country by conducting attacks. “We have intelligence signs that Iran and its proxies could challenge us with attacks in order to disrupt the elections,” Netanyahu stated and warned that Israel will deliver a “disproportionate” response in case of any attacks. “The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is prepared in both defense and offense,” he stated. Earlier in the day, reports emerged that the Israeli prime minister recently asked American President Donald Trump to be more vocal about his support for him in public. According to the latest polls, Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party leads Netanyahu’s Likud, but neither party has enough support to secure a majority.

NN: I expect all hell to break loose after the elections