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War On Iran: – U.S.’ Missile Defense Stock Is Severely Depleted
These numbers by CSIS, which show what is left in the stockpile of U.S. air-defense missiles, explain Iran’s current strategy.
biggerLast night Iran fired some 6 older liquid-fuel missiles against U.S. positions in Jordan. The strike was probably a reply to U.S. and Saudi strikes on Iran friendly forces in Iraq.
It was reported that the U.S. expended at least 10 Patriot missiles to take down some of the incoming Iranian ones.
Patriot missiles are down to some 800. Of the longer range THAAD, useless against drones, there are some 250 left to fire.
Another few dozen days of intense fire exchange will leave all U.S. bases in the Middle East unprotected.
After the strike U.S. President Trump pledged revenge:
President Trump was cited by Fox News as saying the U.S. would hit Iran hard in response to the attack. “They’re going to get a beating,” chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst early Wednesday quoted Trump as telling him.
Trump doesn’t learn.
Iran will respond to any attack and the U.S. situation will worsen.
‘Oil price has dropped 4,07%, erasing the gains of the previous day. Did peace break out overnight?’ – Perimetr 212
This may explain what is going on:
The SPR Oil Company Profit Scam
When the US government releases crude oil supply from the SPR it doesn’t charge the oil companies anything for the oil.
They get the oil for free.
No cost.
They then can sell it for export at the then prevailing market price—i.e. $100 per barrel or more if April to June 17.
Or, they can refine it and sell it in the US domestic market—again at the $4.50/gallon price instead of prior $2.92/gallon.
In both cases there’s no costs of production for the drilling and other pre-refinery production. And if for export, no costs of production at all. Lower or no cost mean windfall profits.
In the first quarter of 2026 the 27 major US oil companies reported windfall profits of $40 billion.
That was before the Iran war and the price escalation.
Soon they’ll report second quarter 2026 profits. Analysts except that to be $60 to $80 billion additional profit windfall.
So the US big oil companies in just the first half will realize more than $100 billion further profit from the Iran war. While the US consumer puts out $69 billion and cuts other spending and/or his savings by that amount.
Who says war is not profitable!
And who wants it to continue?
And this is not to mention the Weapons companies of the Military Industrial Complex.
Or the financial speculators who got pre-notice of Trump’s market price manipulation announcements—which include his friends and family businesses who placed speculative bets on oil price swings since February 2026!
[Trump’s ‘friends’ extend far and wide to include essentially everyone everywhere profiting from these endeavors]
The SPR oil company profits scam—where they wait to take SPR free oil at $0 dollar cost until it reaches $100 per barrel and more and then sell it at 100% profit—is just one of many ways that capitalists of various ilk have been exploiting the war.
Defenders of the SPR scam will argue the oil companies don’t realize 100% profit.
They have to return the free oil from the SPR at a higher rate that they received. Typically they are required to return 1.2 barrels for every 1 barrel they take.
True.
But they can wait up to two years to replace the 1.2 barrels.
So they wait until the price per barrel falls more than 20% in order to pump their own oil to send to the SPR.
This is not unlike ‘short selling’ stock market shares by speculators.
In a short sale, the financial speculator capitalist takes possession of a share of stock and technically ‘sells’ it.
[it’s not just ‘capitalists’ who profit from this]
When the price of the stock then collapses he ‘buys’ the stock at the much lower price.
So he buys it low and (pre) sells it high.
The difference is the speculative profit.
He doesn’t actually take possession of anything. It’s all an accounting manipulation, except for the profit at the end which he gets to bank in his account.
That’s real.
In similar fashion, the Oil company waits until the price per gallon is high, only then ‘takes’ the oil from the SPR.
Sells it at the peak market price.
Then waits until the price collapses and replaces the oil at the low market price.
Even if the replacement is 1.2 to 1, the profit difference is when the lower replacement price is less than 20%.
US oil companies took and sold SPR oil at $100 or more per barrel.
They have two years to replace it at less than $80.
The difference is pure profit.
Should a recession occur within two years, the price per crude will certainly fall to $50 or less.
Other Evidence of No Oil Shortage
The oil companies in the meantime gouge the US consumer at the retail level for gasoline, home heating oil, and diesel.
If there was a true supply shortage, why has US crude oil production not changed at all during 2026 and the war?…
https://jackrasmus.com/2026/07/24/trumps-iran-war-us-oil-shortage-deception/
Posted by: Dan Kelly | Jul 30 2026 14:24 utc | 230
‘America is a paper tiger’ – Mao
Interestingly, Mao Zedong was best friends with Liu Shaoqi who wrote ‘How to be a Good Communist’ which was required reading for comrades-in-the-making for decades.
They had a huge falling out and Mao jailed Liu because Liu was a threat to his own communist ego and vanity.
How to be a Good Communist Rule Number 6:
‘A Party Member’s Personal Interests Must be Unconditionally Subordinated to the Interests of the Party
Personal interests must be subordinated to the Party’s interests, the interests of the local Party organization to those of the entire Party, the interests of the part to those of the whole, and temporary to long-term interests.
This is a Marxist-Leninist principle which must be followed by every Communist.’
Hmmm. Sounds certifiable.
Both Mao and Liu lived among their own elites.
Theirs wasn’t an outwardly ostentatious ‘western’ lifestyle but it was at a level well above and beyond what the average Chinese or the average person anywhere lived.
The communists are, in their own way, the most hypocritically audacious people the world has ever known.
Anyway, I’ll meet you at Zhongnanhai sometime for a beer and a burger.
Posted by: Dan Kelly | Jul 30 2026 15:36 utc | 246
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