📉 BlackRock just froze $1.2 billion in withdrawal requests at its private credit fund.

Here's what happened:

• Investors in BlackRock's $26B fund asked to pull out 9.3% of their money
• BlackRock said no — capped withdrawals at 5%
• Blackstone's $82B fund saw record withdrawal requests the same week
• Blackstone had to put in $400M of its own cash to cover the exits

🔗 https://blockonomi.com/blackrock-blk-stock-plunges-5-as-26b-private-credit-fund-limits-investor-exits/

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇨🇳⚡️ — U.S. intelligence suggests China may be preparing to provide Iran with financial assistance, spare parts, and missile components, according to CNN.

➡️ Beijing has not entered the war directly, but officials say China is closely watching the conflict because it depends heavily on Iranian oil and has been urging Tehran to keep shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz open.

🇮🇱🇺🇸🌞❌🇮🇷 — Israel has been striking areas in western Iran partly to support Iranian Kurdish militias that hope to exploit the war to seize border towns, Reuters reports.

➡️ Israeli officials have held long-running contacts with Kurdish insurgent groups based in Iraqi Kurdistan.

➡️ The groups, estimated at 5,000–8,000 fighters with mostly light weapons, aim to capture towns such as Oshnavieh and Piranshahr and potentially establish a semi-autonomous Kurdish region in a future federal Iran.

➡️ Kurdish factions have been sharing intelligence with the U.S. and Israel and would need air support and additional weapons for any cross-border offensive.

➡️ Israeli officials do not expect the militias to overthrow Iran’s government but believe supporting them could tie down Iranian forces and weaken Tehran’s control in border areas.

➡️ Kurdish leaders remain cautious, seeking assurances from Washington due to fears of being abandoned as in past conflicts.

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇸🇦⚡️ — Secretary of State Marco Rubio told several Arab foreign ministers in calls on Thursday that the war is expected to continue for several more weeks, according to Axios.

➡️ He said the current military focus is on Iran’s missile launchers, stockpiles, and production facilities.

➡️ Rubio added that the U.S. is not seeking regime change, though Washington would like to see different leadership in Iran.

➡️ He also said there is no current dialogue with the Iranian government, and that negotiations now would interfere with ongoing military operations.

🇮🇱🇦🇿❌🇮🇷 — NEW: Israel estimates that Azerbaijan will join the operations against Iran, according to Kan News.

🌍❌🇮🇱 40 Countries Propose Sanctions Over Israeli West Bank Annexation

40 countries in The Hague Group proposed coordinated measures addressing Israel’s settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. The talks focused on accountability for alleged international crimes & restrictions on settlement trade & arms transfers.

The meeting was organized under the framework of The Hague Group, an international initiative established in January 2025 to coordinate legal responses to Israel’s policies in the occupied Palestinian territories and the war in Gaza. The conference, co-chaired by South Africa and Colombia, brought together representatives from 40 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Participants reiterated their commitment to the United Nations Charter, particularly the prohibition on acquiring territory by force and the principle of self-determination.

Delegations discussed three concrete measures aimed at enforcing international legal obligations related to the occupation.

One proposal involves strengthening accountability mechanisms by requiring disclosure from travelers who served in the Israeli military, potentially subjecting them to additional screening under national war crimes legislation.

A second proposal focuses on enforcing non-recognition of Israeli settlements by banning imports of settlement goods and preventing companies based in participating states from operating in those settlements.

A third measure would halt the transfer or transit of arms, military fuel and dual-use items to Israel, while also reviewing government procurement contracts to ensure that public funds do not support the occupation.

Countries represented at the meeting included Algeria, Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and Venezuela, among others, reflecting a broad geographic coalition.

🔗 https://clashreport.com/world/articles/40-countries-propose-sanctions-over-israeli-west-bank-annexation-we5rwplftni

🇵🇭 The Philippines is looking at ways to save on energy as tensions in the Middle East push global fuel costs higher, with the government suggesting people use their air conditioners less and shy away from non-essential travel. — Bloomberg

The Southeast Asian nation imports nearly all of its oil requirements, and the war in Iran could spur inflation that already hit a 13-month high in February.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration this week ordered government offices to set their air-cons to no lower than 24 degrees C (75 degrees fahrenheit) and adopt flexible work arrangements to help conserve fuel. Marcos, who plans to seek emergency authority from Congress to slash taxes on petroleum products, is also entertaining the idea of a four-day work week.

Vice President Sara Duterte meanwhile has urged her supporters to refrain from organizing motorcades or vehicle caravans when they protest against her political rival, Marcos. The mayor of Manila directed the city government to cut fuel consumption by shifting meetings online, switching power off by 5:00 p.m. and banning non-essential travel.

The Philippines is widely seen by economists as one of the most vulnerable nations in the Asia-Pacific region to inflation and growth risks spurred by the Middle East conflict. The archipelago “tends to see a stronger inflation hit because retail fuel prices are more market-driven and subsidies are limited,”

📝Candor Analytica: Major countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines are more vulnerable to Iran War shipping distruptions, with their local oil refineries only able to meet 40-75% of local demand

If things don't change soon, expect governments across Asia to announce austerity measures

🔗 https://archive.ph/29nK6

🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 The U.S. Army abruptly canceled a major training exercise for the 82nd Airborne Division’s headquarters element, fueling speculation within the Pentagon that the unit’s rapid-response force could be deployed to the Middle East, potentially including ground operations. — WaPo

🔗 Faytuks Network

🇶🇦🛢⚠️ Qatar expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks if the Iran conflict continues and drives oil to $150 a barrel, ​the country's Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times in an interview ‌published on Friday.

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/qatar-energy-minister-warns-war-will-force-gulf-stop-energy-exports-within-weeks-2026-03-06/

🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 Donald Trump started the war with Iran without filling up the U.S. Strategic Oil Reserve, making American consumers vulnerable to price shocks

The reserve, created in 1974 following the Arab oil embargo, was left well below its capacity after Biden opened the taps to contain crude prices following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Trump has since failed to fulfil the vow he made in his inauguration speech last year to “refill our reserves right up to the top again”.

The outcome has left the US short of firepower to quell a new surge in petrol prices triggered by Trump’s war in Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on energy assets in the Gulf, which have hurt supplies.

The Trump administration had missed the opportunity to refill the reserve last year when oil was cheaper, he said. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a fifth of global supply, would make it harder to replenish the SPR.

The reserve currently contains 415mn barrels of oil, or about 20 days of total US consumption — well below its 714mn-barrel capacity. Drawing down too much of the oil too quickly could damage the salt caverns holding it, say experts. It would cost more than $20bn to refill, according to the US Department of Energy.

Funding shortages and maintenance delays at the underground facilities in Texas and Louisiana have also hindered replenishment. Biden released 180mn barrels starting in 2021 as petrol prices rose towards record highs in 2022.

Soaring US shale output in recent decades has insulated the US somewhat from the type of physical supply shortages seen in the 1970s oil shocks or Europe’s energy crisis.

But US oil prices have risen 16 per cent since Trump launched the attacks on Iran last weekend, pushing the cost of petrol prices — refined from crude — up 9 per cent to $3.25 a gallon on Thursday, the highest level since April.

The Trump administration told the FT this week it would not tap the SPR to contain any price jump. It is working on alternative price plans, including providing US Navy escorts and insurance to tankers threatened by Iran in the Gulf.

🔗 https://archive.ph/WfXuz

🇰🇼🛢 Kuwait has begun cutting production at its oil fields after running out of room to store its bottled-up crude oil, per WSJ.

Details include:

1. Kuwait is discussing limiting production to just what it needs to cover domestic consumption

2. A decision on those broader cutbacks is expected within days, sources say

3. Once production is shut, restarting production can take days or even weeks

4. Kuwait's ~2.6 million barrels of oil production per day appear to be at risk

Oil storage in the Gulf countries is nearing maximum capacity.

🔗 Kobeissi Letter

💸🇦🇪 Wealthy East-Asians are beginning to move their assets away from Dubai to Singapore and Hong Kong

The war with Iran has completely ruined the safe-haven aura the Gulf Countries enjoyed for decades.

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/wealthy-asians-look-move-dubai-assets-closer-home-iran-war-fears-2026-03-06/

🇺🇸🤝🇻🇪 The U.S. has restored diplomatic ties with Venezuela, a symbolic recognition of Delcy Rodriguez's administration and definitive sidelining of opposition figure, Maria Corina Machado.

Rodriguez increased oil exports to the U.S. a decision credited as the main reason for the full restoration of diplomatic ties between Washington D.C. and Caracas.

🔗 https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/03/a-statement-on-u-s-venezuela-relations/

🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 The White House apparently did not anticipate that starting a war with Iran would cause oil prices for Americans to rise.

President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is telling his advisers to bring ideas to the Oval Office to lower gasoline prices in the wake of the U.S. attack on Iran, according to two energy industry executives familiar with the conversations.

The White House is “looking under every rock for ideas on improving energy prices, especially gasoline prices,” said one of the executives, who was granted anonymity to describe internal administration discussions.

The attack and Iran’s subsequent targeting of the Persian Gulf’s energy sector has sent crude oil up more than $10 a barrel, lifting gasoline prices to their highest levels since Trump took office last year.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other advisers focused on energy policy, including a council led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, “are getting screamed at to find some good news” on bringing down prices, the same executive said. “Folks are scrambling for announcements and messaging to counter the narrative” of rising prices, this person said.

Some of the ideas the administration is considering include a temporary holiday on the gasoline tax, people familiar with the discussions said. But that might not bring immediate relief since it would require action from Congress. And there’s no guarantee oil refiners and gas stations would pass the savings along to drivers.

Some administration officials have also floated using the U.S. military to defend energy infrastructure in the Middle East. But that idea isn’t likely to win over Saudi Arabian officials, who are cool on it given the sensitivities around American boots on the kingdom’s soil.

Loosening U.S. sanctions against Russian oil shipments is also among the another of the ideas the administration is considering to bring down gasoline prices, two people familiar with the discussions said Thursday.

🔗 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/05/iran-energy-prices-trump-wiles-00813710