The U.S. naval blockade is clearly hurting Iran, but it has not forced Tehran to bend. Iranian oil exports have fallen sharply, vessel traffic is down, ships have been turned back or seized, and the pressure on Iran's economy is real. But the blockade is not airtight. Shadow fleet cargoes are still getting through; oil already at sea has given Tehran breathing room. Washington's reported blocking of a $500 million banknote shipment tied to Iraq's oil revenues has opened a new pressure front on Baghdad, linking access to dollar liquidity and security coordination to demands around militias and government formation. Iraq depends on those flows to finance imports and support the dinar, and strain is already showing in currency markets. This comes as Iraq remains tied to the wider Iran-U.S. confrontation through Hormuz and through Iran-aligned armed groups embedded in its own politics. The U.S. pushed through a three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire after White House talks. We saw Trump shift again, talking about making "the best deal" with Iran, which targeted more cargo vessels in Hormuz as a reminder that it still has control points. Washington has also escalated pressure on Iran-linked militias in Iraq with a bounty on a militia leader. At the same time, Pezeshkian made a notable effort to calm tensions with neighboring states, saying they would not be targeted absent provocation. The EU has broken months of deadlock and approved a $106 billion loan package for Ukraine after Hungary lifted its veto once oil resumed flowing through a key pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia. That is a major injection of financial and military support at a time when many had begun questioning whether Europe could sustain this level of backing. It also came with another round of sanctions on Russia, showing Brussels is still tightening pressure even as the war grinds on. The oil link is not incidental. A disruption in energy flows helped jam up European politics, and the restoration of those flows helped unlock a major strategic decision. That tells you how tightly energy security, war financing, and political cohesion are now bound together in Europe. The war in Ukraine is seeing a combat surge across the eastern front, especially around Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka, while Russian forces continue pressing in Sumy and other northern sectors. Ukraine is sustaining a deep strike campaign into Russia's rear, hitting ammunition depots, fuel facilities, and transit hubs in an effort to slow Russian resupply before it reaches the front. Moscow has responded by intensifying strikes on Ukraine's rail system, going after one of the core arteries of the country's war effort. Ukrainian strikes on Russian ports, refineries, and remaining export routes are now reportedly cutting Russian oil output by several hundred thousand barrels a day, putting pressure on revenues that underpin the war economy. Adding to the uncertainty inside Russia itself are reports about the deteriorating health of Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, raising the prospect of instability in Chechnya at a time when Moscow can least afford it. South Korea is moving to lock in crude supplies from Kazakhstan as the Iran war forces a panicked rethink of energy security, with Seoul trying to reduce exposure to a Strait of Hormuz route that still carries the bulk of its oil imports. The Kazakhstan push follows Seoul's emergency crude arrangement with the UAE and shows how the war is beginning to alter trade patterns well beyond the Middle East itself. Ecopetrol is moving to take control of Brava Energia through a 26% stake and a follow-on bid for majority ownership, a major push by Colombia's state oil company into Brazil's upstream sector. This is not a passive investment. It is a move for production, reserves and position in one of the world's most active offshore oil provinces. Brava brings about 81,000 barrels a day of output and a large reserve base, but the larger point is that capital is continuing to move toward scale and resource depth in Brazil. Ecopetrol is buying into that directly rather than trying to build it over time. BP took a significant blow from shareholders, with investors voting down management on climate disclosures and on plans to move annual meetings online, while nearly a fifth also voted against Chair Albert Manifold. That is not routine shareholder noise. It is a direct revolt over governance, strategy, and investor rights at a moment when the company is trying to reset under new leadership. The climate issue is part of it, but there is also some deeper dissatisfaction over capital discipline and the company's broader direction as it leans harder into oil and gas. Gabon expects to sign production-sharing contracts with BP and Exxon Mobil within four to six months after both companies entered preliminary agreements to explore offshore blocks along its Atlantic coast, according to the country's oil minister. The agreements are still non-bin