US weighs military reinforcements as Iran war enters possible new phase
www.reuters.com

... President Donald Trump's administration is considering deploying thousands of U.S. troops to reinforce its operation in the Middle East, as the U.S. military prepares for possible next steps in its campaign against Iran, said a U.S. official and three people familiar with the matter.

The deployments could help provide Trump with additional options as he weighs expanding U.S. operations, with the Iran war well into its third week.

Those options include securing safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a mission that would be accomplished primarily through air and naval forces, the sources said. But securing the Strait could also mean deploying U.S. troops to Iran's shoreline, said four sources, including two U.S. officials. ...

Trump is poised to take Iran's Kharg Island. Here's what could unfold next.
www.politico.com

... A tiny Iranian island responsible for virtually all of the country's oil exports is in President Donald Trump's crosshairs.

Trump began attacking Kharg Island, the 5-mile strip of land that nearly all of Iran's oil exports pass through, late last week as part of his war against the country. He's warning that a broader assault could come next as part of his campaign to get Iran to stop targeting tankers in the all-important Strait of Hormuz.

"We can knock out their oil in Kharg Island," Trump told reporters Tuesday. "The only thing we didn't take down was the oil, because if we knock out, I call them the pipes, very complex, but if you do that, it will take them forever to rebuild."

Hitting or seizing the island holds enormous risk for a president whose political standing at home could erode if military action against Kharg Island ignites a full-scale war by Iran against energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf. A widening conflict in the Middle East involving the destruction of oil fields ports, and natural gas storage depots could send crude prices soaring " and bring the world closer to a recession. ...

Hormuz Shutdown Hits Key Industrial Commodities, Including Bunker Fuel
maritime-executive.com

... The Strait of Hormuz shutdown is having a direct effect on the price of oil and LNG, and in some downstream and byproduct markets, the impact is becoming acute. Net global oil supply is expected to fall by eight million barrels per day in March, according to the IEA.

International commodity markets for sulfur, helium, urea, naphtha and petchem products are all linked to Mideast energy production, and shortages have knock-on effects on other sectors of the industrial economy -- not least shipping, which is already facing price spikes and availability issues for bunker fuel.

In Singapore, VLSFO prices have doubled since the beginning of the U.S.-Iran conflict in late February, and are now clearing the $1,000-per-tonne mark - up from just $400 at the beginning of the year. Worldwide, Ship & Bunker predicts VLSFO prices in the range of $700 per tonne throughout Q2.

But pricing is half of the story. Basic availability of bunker fuel is now in question at some ports. Maersk, one of the world's largest consumers of bunker fuel, says that it is taking steps to move its own fuel supplies around in order to make sure it has bunkers where needed - effectively reinventing a supply chain for its fuel. ...

Iran war triggers helium shortage, hits semiconductor supply
www.dw.com

... Since the war in Iran started February 28, worries about oil and gas have made the biggest headlines and sparked the loudest complaints from consumers.

But another bottleneck in the global supply network is causing alarm: a shortage of helium, an essential component used to make, among other things, semiconductors -- those tiny chips that help run everything from electric vehicles to smartphones.

A prolonged shortage of helium could lead to a shortfall of advanced chips and have knock-on effects for electronics manufacturers who depend on them, or force others to scale back their datacenter plans.

Why is helium essential for chipmakers? ...