Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hew...
investing in creative thinkers and problem solvers who help people, communities, and the planet flourish. More information is available at Hewlett.org. It could last six days, six weeks, I doubt six months. Echoes have a rock in the US direction around. As uncertainty grows over time and scope, I'm Aisha Roscoe.
And I'm Scott Simon and this is up first from NPR News.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was answering questions in northern Italy in February 2003 on a trip to reassure European leaders in the run-up to the Iraq war. Similar questions now, both from allies and from worried investors who are watching energy prices rise, we take a look today on the podcast. That's after the latest developments in the fighting and a wrap-up of the Iran Wars first week.
And later President Trump's plans for American influence closer to home.
“So please stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your weekend.”
Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,
investing in creative thinkers and problem solvers who help people, communities,
and the planet flourish. More information is available at Hewlett.org. Over night, Israel continued air strikes throughout Iran, including the capital to Iran, and continued striking targets in Lebanon. And early this morning, Iran's President apologized in the recorded statement for attacking Gulf states. The death toll throughout the region is rising, with more than 1,300 reported dead in Iran,
according to the Iranian red crescent, and hundreds more in Lebanon, according to health officials. NPR's carry-con joins us now from Tel Aviv. And I'm told you we had to go into a bomb shelter carry. Yes, I am. The air raid sirens one of NIM in the safe room now, a little echoey, but safe. All right, thanks for being with us. Israel's military says that hit number of sites overnight and this morning, what do we know? Right. Israel's military did say early this morning,
they sent more than 80 fighter jets into Iran and struck multiple targets across the country in
in Tehran, including what it says was the Revolutionary Guard's main military university.
Israel says it has attacked hard Iran's missile and drone systems. I can tell you that the number of sirens going off in Israel have declined in this first week, but Israelis are still spending hours and bomb shelters, and like you said, I'm in one right now. And in the last 24 hour sirens went off throughout the night in this morning, I'm just waiting for the all-clear signal. Okay, Iran's been firing missiles and drones around the region at nearly a dozen countries.
“What did Iran's president say today and what's reaction been?”
It was a recorded message. It was very short. It was put out on state media channels. President Masood Peshikyan apologized for striking Iran's neighbors, but he stopped short of saying there would be no more tax. He said Iran would only strike its neighbors if quote an attack on Iran originates from those countries and he added this. He says I believe we should resolve this through diplomacy rather than facing problems
by fighting he said. But on Saturday morning, the area of sirens went off in multiple countries throughout the Gulf. There was a drone intercepted and Dubai that temporarily suspended flights at that huge international airport there, sirens in Bahrain, and Saudi officials say they've intercepted nearly a dozen drones. There's been no official reaction from Gulf states yet about their Iranian president's apology.
But this morning, Empire did speak with a Gulf official who said quote, "We will only believe it if we see it." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. And this is interesting in a statement after the president's message, Iran's military stated that it still considers U.S. military bases and other U.S. interests
“in the region fair game. Israel is also bombarded to the suburbs around Beirut. What's happening there?”
Sure. Israel says it's going after Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon and a Beirut suburb believed to be a stronghold of the Iranian back-group overnight. They took heavy strikes and those areas of Beirut tens of thousands of people have been displaced. Many are living on the streets and camping on the beach fronts in the capital NPR spoke with Muhammad Abul Ahmad. He's a 39-year-old father with two small children. They all fled their neighborhood and are sleeping
on Beirut's beachside promenade. He says, "We're by the sea, it's raining and cold and we are hungry
Thirsty.
And Israel's defense minister Israel cats this morning. Ward Lebanon's president to act and take steps before we do even more to stop Hezbollah fighters. Or Lebanon, he said, will quote pay a very heavy price. "My pairs carry con until it leaves. Thanks so much." "You're welcome." Now to the energy markets, global all prices spike this week. And that's pushing U.S. Gasoline prices up too. And pairs Camila Dominozki covers energy. If you join us now, Camila thanks for
being with us. "Happy to be here." And what's the latest? Well, prices really shot up yesterday. For the first half of the week, prices were up, but Rebecca Babin and oil trader told me on Monday that markets were not panicking. Well, she emailed me on Friday afternoon and said, quote, "Panic has officially set in." As an oil trader's are panicking now. The global benchmark for crude closed for the weekend at a little under 93 dollars a barrel. That's up from 70 before the attack.
And these higher crude prices have pushed up Gasoline more than 14%, which is a bigger week on week jump than we saw after Russia invaded Ukraine. What change from Monday to Friday? Well, hopes for a quick resolution to the conflict faded over those days. We have also seen attacks on oil
“infrastructure in countries across the Gulf region. But above all, there is this key waterway,”
folks have heard about, right? Here's Halima Croft with our BC Capital markets earlier this week. The straight-of-war moves remains effectively a parking lot. We have tankers avoiding going through
the critical waterway that accounts for 20% of global oil and LNG exports. LNG is liquefied natural
gas. And yeah, 20%, right? Iran has threatened to close the straight many times before, but never actually done it. And the near halt of ships passing through has had not gone effects as the days passed, right? Iraq and most recently Kuwait have had to stop some oil production because there is simply nowhere to put it. How is Iran keeping the straight closed? Yeah, it's not physically blocked. Some ships have actually gotten through. But Iran has attacked multiple ships attempting
the passage with drones and missiles, so do ship owners and captains want to risk the loss of an oil tanker. The environmental disaster that could create the lives of their crew, right? Meanwhile, ensuring a trip through the straight got a lot more expensive. I chatted with Neil Roberts from Lloyd's Market in London, which has been pricing the risk of sending cargo through war zones for
“centuries, since the days with the British Empire when the ships in question had sales, right?”
And he says that coverage is available, but the price has to match the risk, right? And this is very risky. Now, the U.S. has now offered to provide both insurance and naval escort to ships in the
region. But yesterday, the agency handling that insurance said that they can cover up to $20 billion
total. JP Morgan Chase has estimated that the need is more like $350 billion. And as for the U.S. escorts, Roberts said that a lot of ships would really rather have a neutral escort from a country that is not a part of this war. Can we have the world replace the oil that is stuck waiting to come through the straight? Partially. So we're talking about some 20 million barrels per day that's not moving. There are some stockpiles globally, and some oil from the Gulf region can be redirected through
pipelines if those aren't attacked. Kevin Wilkes the co-founder of Clearview Energy Partners,
he says by his math, the world might make up all but one to three million barrels. But that's
still an enormous gap. And that's relying on reserves that would eventually run out. During other price shocks, after the invasion of Kuwait for example, the run up to the war in Iraq, crises in the 70s, the U.S. was a lot more reliant on oil from the Middle East. Isn't that some solids for investors and consumers? Yeah, it is different now. The U.S. is the world's top oil producer making more oil than it uses. That is one reason oil isn't like $200 right now,
“along with the rise of clean energy. But you have to remember, this is a global market for crude oil.”
So the oil passing through the straight would be mostly heading for Asia, not for the U.S. But Americans are still going to feel the price hikes, not just in gasoline, but in everything, because transporting stuff is part of the cost of everything we buy. And Pierre's Camila Dominozki.
Thanks so much for being with us.
[Music]
“President Trump is in Miami today, meeting with Latin American leaders in the hopes of countering”
Chinese influence in the region. It's part of a renewed focus by the administration when it's so called Don Roaddoctrine, which looks like but doesn't quite rhyme with the Monroe Doctrine, and holds that America should aggressively dominate the western hemisphere. But several top Latin American leaders are not in Miami today. Including those of the region's two largest economies. And Pierre's White House correspondent Franco or Donia's joins us. Franco,
thanks for being with us. Thanks for having me, Scott. The shield of the America's summit, sounds a lot like the summit of the Americas. What's going on? Yeah, I mean, I will say, Scott, it's very different than the some of the Americas, which is kind of meant to gather all the leaders from the western hemisphere, from the left, from the right, big countries and small ones. This is actually a group of conservatives who are broadly on board with the President's agenda.
And what countries will have representatives there? There's going to be 12 of them. They include Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Salvador, and for what it's worth, it does not include Brazil and Mexico, which are the two largest economies of or Colombia. But the White House says those attending
will be signing a joint security declaration that basically encourages military force against
drug cartels. And drug gangs across Latin America are a concern, aren't they? Yeah, for sure. And many would love more help from the US, which is, you know, long provided something in an narcotics aid. And just as an example, a recent one, the US military launched or joint operations with Ecuador to fight, quote, "designated terrorist organizations." Of course, the US is at war in the Middle
“East. How much time is there for President Trump to focus on Latin America's drug wars?”
Or are there relationship with China? I mean, Iran may not be a big topic of conversation at these meetings, but I will say it is part of the larger conversation. Benjamin Cadan had the South America portfolio in the Obama White House. He says it's very significant that this is happening
considering US history with the region. The expectation is always the Latin America will be bumped
by a more prominent foreign policy crisis. The fact that the Secretary of Defense still travel to Florida for a meeting about Latin America and that the President himself is doing the same. Is the signal that the administration really will continue to focus on Latin America and not be pulled toward the regions that normally suck up so much attention in Washington? And for context, Scott, in his first administration, Trump canceled his trip to attend the
Somity of America in Peru in 2018 because of the crisis in Syria. That was supposed to be Trump's first trip to Latin America and it was largely seen as evidence of his lack of interest in the region.
“Well, this is a big reversal. What about China's investments in Latin America?”
Can US realistically counter Chinese influence that's growing? Yeah, I think the administration may be able to mitigate some of that influence, but as G'Don't tell me, you just can't wish China away. You can't bully countries and returning their back on China. China is just such a major source of capital for the region and it buys so many regional goods. And G'Don't tell me there is no clear example of an Argentina
of Trump's challenges with China in the region. This is a country that received a $20 billion bail
out from the United States. But where was its foreign minister? Just a few weeks ago, meeting with the Chinese foreign minister to reassure him that Argentina was open to China's trade and investment? Of course, the US military recently engaged in attack in Venezuela and the US is putting a lot of pressure on Cuba. Today, someone going to address any of that. It's likely Trump will bring up Venezuela in Cuba. But again, these are hand-picked leaders who are eager
to align with Trump. They're not going to raise concerns. I mean, some are struggling with migration because of the Exodus with Venezuela, and they would appreciate more open Venezuela in Cuba. For them, the focus is seeing benefits working with Trump. And if you're a White House correspondent, Franco or Dondos, thanks so much. Thank you, Scott. And that's up first for Saturday, March 7th, 1226. I'm Aisha Roscoe.
And I'm Scott Simon, Elena Torque, and Fernando Naro, produced today's podcast. Our editors were Ed McNulty, Jacob Finston, Diana Douglas, Hannah Block, Cara Platoni, and Rebecca Metzler, Andy Craig directed. Our technical director is Oven Ganovan with engineering support from Tom Marquito, Damian Herring, Jason and Zach Coleman. Shannon Rhodes, as our senior supervising editor,
Our executive producer is Evie Stone.
And tomorrow on the Sunday story, we take you to India and investigate the black market for
“human eggs. Thank you for listening, and for supporting your local MPR station. If you don't”
know your local MPR station, just go to stations.mpr.org, and you'll find it. Thank you so much.
Yeah, it doesn't take time at all, and it's time well spent. Exactly. [Music]
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