Is Israel running an op on the US press?

Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome back from Eid. What type of morning is it? Let’s put it this way: Aramco boss Amin Nasser is backing out of global energy extravaganza CERAweek and Donald Trump is sending 2k paratroopers to the region. This is fine.

Energy is the big theme in this morning’s edition, which should surprise exactly none of you as Egypt braces for rolling blackouts and Saudi recons with the reality that high oil prices are only great as long as there’s demand for oil in volume.

MEANWHILE- Is Israel running an op on the US press? Longtime readers know we’re not much for conspiracy theories, but a drumbeat of stories in major US outlets reeks of a calculated bid by Tel Aviv to pull Saudi Arabia into the war on Iran. Witness the New York Times (MbS is pushing Trump to step up the war?) and the Wall Street Journal (Saudi will let the US use its bases for attacks?).

Why stop at Saudi? Axios’ Barak Ravid has the UAE lining up to start pounding Iran, too.

A PALATE CLEANSER for you from the Dept. of Schadenfreude: OpenAI says it’s shutting down its Sora video-generation / social media app after just six months. “What you made with Sora mattered,” it adds. Uhm … not so much? –Patrick