Treasury Sanctions Crypto Exchanges Funding Iran’s IRGC and Enabling Illicit Finance – Secretary Scott Bessent Locking Funding Down

On August 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sweeping sanctions targeting digital asset exchanges and networks used by the Iranian regime to launder funds, evade sanctions, and support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other terrorist groups. The action hits two major platforms exploited by […]

Continue Reading

US Senate Passes Russia Sanctions Bill Championed by Graham: Is This Even Worth the Paper It Is Written On?

On August 7, 2026, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by a vote of 86-11. The bipartisan measure, renamed in honor of the late South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham—who championed it until his death last month—now heads to the House. The legislation authorizes the president […]

Continue Reading

US Oil and Refined Products Inventories Down

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose last week, but Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) draws and sharp declines in key refined products left overall oil and product stocks tighter, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Weekly Petroleum Status Report released today for the week ending July 31, 2026. Key Inventory Highlights (Week Ending July 31, […]

Continue Reading

Global Energy Market In Flux with Russia, Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandab Strait and drought in the EU all in play

The global energy landscape remains highly volatile in early August 2026, shaped by overlapping geopolitical, security, and climate pressures. Disruptions centered on Russia’s refined product exports, ongoing uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz, escalating risks in the Bab el-Mandab Strait, and a severe drought across Europe are tightening supplies of crude oil, petroleum products, LNG, […]

Continue Reading

Qatar, Bessent Signal Progress on Short-Term US-Iran Deal — With Mixed Signals from Iran

Oil markets swung lower on Tuesday as Qatar and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed to advancing mediation efforts aimed at a short-term arrangement between the United States and Iran, centered on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The chokepoint, which normally handles roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies, has been heavily disrupted since […]

Continue Reading