The Houthis have threatened to shut down another key trade route, with the world economy already reeling from Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran and the U.S. have meanwhile stepped up their attacks as they vie for control of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited in peacetime, setting off a scramble for alternative routes.

As the U.S. carried out a 12th night of strikes across Iran, President Donald Trump threatened “major military punishment” against the Houthis if their attacks on ships continue.

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Source: https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-hormuz-strait-war-60d46bf8c83c43a8f2268b7b87627c55?fbclid=IwY2xjawTPSiFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeuZ1Lq2rDtiyR1dhQXh4d-X_zsuMMqtEntnSP8iRO6WTLYBvh-1iqVXhS2pc_aem_nGzQB1qm2sBC-rlaO2veHA

The post Yemen’s Houthis attack Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, threatening to widen Iran war first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The request, which is being reported for the first time, follows Pakistan’s role in brokering talks over the Iran war, which raised its ​diplomatic profile and stirred hopes that it could seek economic gains from Washington and other partners.

In the request to U.S. ‌Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Islamabad is seeking a Bilateral Exchange Stabilization Support Facility between the U.S. and the Pakistani government worth $10 billion with maturity of up to five years.

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Source: https://kelo.com/2026/07/21/exclusive-pakistan-seeks-10-billion-in-us-backstop-facility-to-boost-reserves-source-says/

The post Exclusive-Pakistan seeks $10 billion in US backstop facility to boost reserves, source says first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Lebanese army troops began deploying in the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh Tuesday after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) said in a statement, in line with a US-brokered plan for “pilot zones” in the south.

The LAF statement was referring to the initial pullout by the Israel Defense Forces units laid out as part of the plan, which envisions Lebanese army troops confiscating weapons from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah terror group in parts of southern Lebanon and phased withdrawals of Israeli troops, who are eventually meant to leave Lebanon.

The Israeli military said a day earlier that the plan, dubbed the pilot zone program, has begun, but did not immediately confirm Tuesday it has withdrawn forces from any areas in south Lebanon.

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Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-first-lebanese-army-deploys-in-southern-pilot-zone-after-israeli-withdrawal/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTMradleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeXNE7iKr6kFu3NcQha9_EPiBD-gvdBiv9dHlPi523ydxioKG2Jym1v8xoh7A_aem_56eXQcs4EsqP6DZKj0ZjTw

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Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega said the Central American country would no longer hold elections, further closing off any potential path for the opposition to challenge the government he leads with his wife, Rosario Murillo.

Ortega, Nicaragua’s longest-serving leader, has remained in power since 2007 after previously governing during the 1980s. His current presidential term is scheduled to run through 2027.

“There won’t be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power,” Ortega said.

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Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/nicaragua-ortega-ends-elections?fbclid=IwY2xjawTNzb5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEegVUb_F5eTHag6djYehHs0sx3NSWLsX93N3Cv0IwXBpfhKFOpsLGgWJBWNG0_aem_9hEeFIpAHv2BFLF4khyaEA

The post Nicaragua’s Ortega says country will ‘never again’ hold elections, shutting out opposition first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

In a post on X, Barchart shared a Bank of America Global Research chart showing the U.S. had about 43 days of crude oil supply, including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, compared with a long-term average of around 65 days.

Based on Bloomberg data, the chart showed the measure falling to its lowest level since the early 1980s.

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Source: https://seekingalpha.com/news/4615184-oil-cushion-thins-as-us-crude-supply-falls-to-45-year-low

The post Oil cushion thins as U.S. crude supply falls to 45-year low first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The new premier delivered his latest hint at a lurch to the Left in a speech in Downing Street, watched by an adoring crowd of aides and supporters.

Mr Burnham said he wanted to put services under ‘stronger public control’ and ‘reindustrialise’ with a ‘ten-year plan’, repeating his view that Britain has been heading in the wrong direction since Margaret Thatcher was PM.

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Source: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15990505/Burnham-PM-officially-King-Starmer-Cabinet-Labour-Downing-Street.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawTLgElleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeel5BQ9GhojIpbXuo4BDN4DLVuzKL37Oq67gev_m-dnzvvqpCsEgB-9ibIkE_aem_1z9BgeMZz4_foupGj1CpoQ

The post What’s the plan? Burnham vows to ‘be better’ than Starmer as he hints at Leftward lurch in first speech as PM – but again gives no detail – as Cabinet battle looms first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

DUBAI/CAIRO, July 20 – Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, a move that opens a new front against the United States in its war on Iran and widens the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.

Iran had pressed the Houthis to close the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea if the U.S. continued to attack Iranian power infrastructure.

In their statement, the Houthis’ armed forces said they were declaring “a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye’, effective immediately…”

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Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/yemen-houthis-maritime-embargo-saudi-arabia-oil-rcna588345?fbclid=IwY2xjawTLfbBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeOV2MDMivHHTuNmeZu2RyZJhV8XYFP9ChZY6w9BLoS94VnFwPE9o4o804QrA_aem_jbiiEo-Zi4-09PAwxagE-w

The post Yemen’s Houthis declare naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, widening threat to global oil supplies first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The Iranians haven’t learned their lesson. They’ve got pictures showing the First Family in coffins. Dead. I know this last round of images is going to outrage Mr. Trump, so how long can Iran last in its present form? I always thought Iranians were the smartest of the Islamists. Apparently not. Trump doesn’t suffer fools lightly. Iran thinks they can interfere with world trade by closing the Strait of Hormuz. I think they’ve got another thing coming. 

North Korea is upgrading their missiles that can reach the United States. Kim Jong Un better not be as stupid as he looks. He’s liable to fool around and find out.

The media is doing everything within their power to turn us against Trump. They’ve hauled out every argument in the book, but they’re not winning. That’s his specialty.

There have been earthquakes in diverse places. I lived through several in California, and they’re no joke. One time it splashed water out of our pool, ruined Dad’s upstairs trophy room and got us all up early. Dad said two bucks were locked in combat. My bed was on casters and started rolling around. I saw waves going through the concrete. I remember February 9, 1971 like it was yesterday. My buddies and I were going to go to the beach, but Dad intervened and said the garden needed work. But things are not built in South America like they are in California. No provision for earthquakes. The twin earthquakes in Venezuela last month have left nearly 5,000 dead and 21,000 displaced.

Ukraine still isn’t solved. Zelensky is strutting around like he’s important. The jury is still out. They boast of missiles hitting near Moscow. They better be careful. 

The news says that Walmart is locking up beef in California. I’ve been here a long time, and I don’t ever remember locking up beef. Where are they going to put it?

The media’s been diagraming Trump’s speech before he even made it. It turns out that it wasn’t nearly as explosive as advertised. But that’s the media. They hate Trump.

Mark 

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – July 17, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Kuwait is negotiating an expanded defence agreement with Pakistan in exchange for energy cooperation and investment with the South Asian country, according to a Reuters report.

A Pakistani official told Reuters that Kuwait wanted Islamabad to deploy “thousands of Pakistani troops on the ground, fighter jets, drones, an air defence system, and other defence-related facilities”.

The talks, while at an early stage, underscore how the regional security landscape is being upended by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The post Kuwait seeking expanded defence agreement with Pakistan: Report first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the strait. The collapse of an interim ceasefire leaves no clear end in sight for the war that the U.S. and Israel began more than four months ago.

The U.S. Central Command said early Saturday that its seventh straight night of strikes had hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”

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Source: https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-hormuz-strait-war-july-17-2026-2ad0cfe592eb258cb15a9eb04411d58a?fbclid=IwY2xjawTLeXBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe3wFouwZTMAUuso7co-qaIVJviAwp68nYnayOSkKX9iSXk8ql_f3KsMlV-Bw_aem_RYtPkjIiXEk2ogD4YzcgDA

The post US and Iran escalate strikes across Mideast first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.