Andrew Carroll
283 posts
🚨 THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE
🚨 🚨NOBODY UNDERSTANDS
WHAT THEY JUST TRIGGERED. 🚨 🚨
People always talk about Iranian oil in terms of barrels, but rarely about what’s actually inside them. That’s the key difference—and the reason Western refineries have quietly relied on back-channel networks through places like Dubai for years to keep getting it, even under sanctions.
Crude oil isn’t all the same. It’s a mix of hydrocarbons with different molecular weights, and that mix determines how easily it can be turned into the fuels refineries actually sell—like gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and heating oil. The main measure here is API gravity. Higher API means lighter crude that’s easier and cheaper to refine, and it produces more of those high-value fuels. Lower API means heavier crude that takes more energy, more processing, and more expensive equipment, while producing more low-value leftovers.
Iranian Light crude sits right in a sweet spot, with an API gravity around 33–36 and moderate sulfur levels. It’s light enough to produce a lot of gasoline and middle distillates without high costs, but not so light that it limits what refineries can make. In industry terms, it’s close to an ideal blend.
Now look at the alternatives.
Venezuela’s Merey crude is much heavier, with very low API gravity and high sulfur. Refining it profitably requires specialized, expensive equipment like cokers and hydrocrackers. Some refineries are built for that—but it’s not interchangeable with Iranian crude. It’s a completely different type of input.
On the other end, US West Texas Intermediate is very light and low in sulfur. Sounds perfect in theory, but in practice it’s almost too light. Many refineries—especially in Europe and Asia—are designed for medium-grade crude, so they can’t just switch to WTI. They often have to blend it with heavier oils to make it work.
That’s where Iranian crude stands out. It fits right into the middle of the system. It doesn’t need the heavy-duty processing of Venezuelan oil or the blending adjustments required for ultra-light US shale. That balance is why it’s consistently in demand and often priced at a premium. It also explains why countries like India kept buying it despite sanctions, and why those complex trading networks through Dubai existed in the first place.
The Strait of Hormuz isn’t just a route for oil—it’s a route for this specific kind of oil that global refineries are optimized to process. If that flow gets disrupted, it’s not just about losing supply. It’s about losing the type of crude the system runs most efficiently on, forcing refineries to adapt with less suitable alternatives.
That’s what’s really baked into oil prices like $82—not just how much oil is available, but what kind it is.
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Dylan Raiola really thought he could go back to Lincoln and sit at a Nebraska softball game and not get spotted 😭
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Iran just fired missiles at five countries simultaneously. Here is what actually happened to each of them.
Bahrain. Confirmed hit on the US Navy Fifth Fleet headquarters. Bahrain’s own state news agency reported the strike. No casualty figures released yet. This is the command center for every American naval operation in the Persian Gulf. It was struck.
UAE. Multiple missiles intercepted by Emirati air defenses. One civilian killed in Abu Dhabi from falling debris. The UAE defense ministry confirmed the intercepts. The Emirates just absorbed an act of war on its sovereign territory from a country it shares a maritime border with.
Qatar. Missile intercepted. Zero damage. The Qatari Interior Ministry confirmed. The same country Iran just attacked is the country that hosted Al Udeid for twenty years as a gesture of regional balance. That balance ended this morning.
Kuwait. KUNA state news agency confirmed missiles were “dealt with” in Kuwaiti airspace. No reported damage. Kuwait, which stayed neutral through every Gulf crisis since 1991, just had Iranian ballistic missiles flying over its cities.
Jordan. Two Iranian ballistic missiles shot down by Jordanian military. Confirmed by the Jordanian armed forces directly. Jordan intercepted Iranian missiles in June 2025 as well. That was in defense of Israel. This time Iran targeted Jordan itself.
Saudi Arabia. Fars News claims strikes. No confirmation from any Saudi source. No Tier 1 or Tier 2 verification. Either it did not happen or Riyadh is not yet ready to say it did. Both possibilities carry enormous implications.
Now understand what Iran just accomplished strategically. In attempting to retaliate against Israel and America, the IRGC fired missiles at six sovereign nations in a single morning. Not one of those nations attacked Iran. Bahrain did not bomb Tehran. The UAE did not launch strikes on Isfahan. Qatar hosted diplomatic back channels. Kuwait maintained neutrality for three decades. Jordan was mediating.
Iran just converted every neutral and semi-neutral state in the Gulf into a potential co-belligerent. Every nation whose airspace was violated, whose civilians were killed, whose sovereignty was breached now has legal and political justification to join whatever coalition forms next.
And the damage tells the real story. One civilian dead from debris. Intercepts across four countries. No confirmed destruction of any US military asset. No reported American casualties among 40,000 troops in theater. Iran fired at the entire Gulf and the Gulf caught almost everything.
Compare this to what Israel did to Tehran this morning. Precision strikes on the IRGC Intelligence Directorate. Explosions near the Supreme Leader’s office. Three detonations in central Tehran confirmed by Iranian state media itself.
One side hit what it aimed at. The other side hit one civilian with debris.
This is the asymmetry that will define the next 72 hours. Iran demonstrated intent to strike everywhere and capability to hit almost nothing. The Gulf states demonstrated they can defend themselves. And now those states must decide whether the country that just fired ballistic missiles across their borders gets to do it again.
They will not let it happen again.
Watch for the joint statement. Watch for airspace coordination between Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Manama, and Kuwait City. Watch for the coalition that Iran just built against itself with a single salvo.
Iran did not retaliate against Israel this morning. Iran gave every country in the Middle East a reason to retaliate against Iran.
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The Epstein victims were paid over $100 million in civil damages. While everyone is focused on the release of the files, why can’t these women just publicly name the people they say assaulted them and haven’t been charged with crimes? Seems like the clear solution here.
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The idea that #JimPillen would have an extra marital affair with lobbyist Julie Bushell then risk his office by giving her a 2.5M contract just to keep her quiet is nonsense. We haven’t had weapons grade rumor mongering like that around here since the Franklin Credit scandal
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How are we feeling about this half time show?
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@KyleWillia1704 @MikelSevere 29 catches 312yrds
That’s 2.2 catches a game
2 TD 1 vs Akron, 1 vs Maryland
That is not using the TE
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@letsbehonest198 @MikelSevere We used lindenmeyer a lot. Idk wtf yall are on about with that, it’s like you didn’t even watch the canes
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Good news for the former Husker TE.
Billy M@BillyM_91
Every 1v1 rep from Nate Boerkircher at the Senior Bowl (both non-catches were flags on defender). He will be a riser imo. Only 198 yards last year, but clearly showed he has the functional skillset as a pass catcher (catch radius, separation at the top of route, and athleticism)
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🚨 CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ARE COOKING STEAK AND EGGS ON A JOBSITE - AND THE INTERNET IS SHOCKED
The video’s caption says it all: “healthiest crew you will see.”
Portable burners on dirt. Steak sizzling. Eggs cracking mid-shift. Chicken, fruit, yogurt, salad, protein - all laid out on a construction site.
No fast food.
No DoorDash.
No “I don’t have time.”
They’re building the country and eating better than most people with a fridge 10 feet away.
If blue-collar workers can do this on a construction site, what excuse does anyone else have?
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@_willcompton @NESpower Yeah it’s like rewiring the whole city in a few weeks that took decades to build! Football players are soft compared to blue collar linemen
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17 zip codes in Nashville are estimated to be without power until February 8th
Two full weeks.
That’s fucking absurd @NESpower
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Our govt has fallen to fraud, foreign and domestic. They lied to all of us while enabling the rape our children. This is what we fought for.
Have you ever heard of a shell company? We are a shell country.
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🚨 BREAKING: ICE attempted to apprehend a convicted S*XUAL PREDATOR in Minneapolis, but he fled into the Ecuadorian consulate, who then BLOCKED ICE from entering
Ecuador should be KICKED OUT of the U.S. if they’re going to harbor illegal predators
INSANE
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@HuskerMBB @peacock @HuskersRadio Biggest conference game on a streaming app😂 B10 is stupidly stupid
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Taking on the Wolverines.
🆚: Michigan
📍: Ann Arbor, MI
⌚️: 6:00 PM CT
📺: @peacock
📻: @HuskersRadio
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@HurrdatSports @THEnebpreps @Mount_Michael They probably have bigger gyms in their parents backyard barn.
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Most college football & basketball players are destroying the best asset of college athletics — loyal alumni groups that can help employ you when your athletic career ends — over relatively small amounts of money.
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@BussinWTB @PeteNakos @Hayesfawcett3 Think how many times Indiana would have sacked him Saturday compared to Moore!
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