Oil tankers idle at the mouth of the Gulf while a single sentence from Tehran threatens to rattle every gas pump on earth. Mojtaba Khamenei’s order to close the Strait of Hormuz and demand the evacuation of U.S. forces from Gulf bases is more than bluster; it is a calculated attempt to weaponize energy, fear, and uncertainty. Washington scrambles for a Jones Act waiver to blunt the shock, hoping alternative routes and domestic shipping can keep American ports supplied as markets brace for impact.

Across the region, the sky is already on fire. Hezbollah and Iran coordinate a massive missile and drone barrage on Israel, inviting ferocious counterstrikes that risk turning Lebanon into “a second Gaza.” Trump, praising the ferocity of Operation Epic Fury, warns of Iranian-linked sleeper cells and drone plots on U.S. soil, tying them to Biden’s border policies. The war may be “over there” on the map—but its consequences are already closing in on every household light switch and every gallon of fuel.