Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev warned Tuesday that all countries that joined NATO became an automatic target for the Russian military, including retaliatory strikes involving nuclear weapons. Medvedev hinted that newly-joined NATO states such as Finland and Sweden are now “in a hostile bloc” against Russia, stressing it did not improve the lives of their citizens. At the same time, Russia’s former president again accused Western countries of “drowning in Russophobia,” adding that the extent of these countries’ hostility towards Moscow is surprising. “They carefully learned the methodologies of their predecessors,” he concluded.
Oil loses 1.5% on reputed progress in Gaza talks…..BULLSHIT!……Israel strikes a Hezbollah missile facility in Beirut amid escalating tensions
The prices of oil futures declined by more than 1.5% on Tuesday after Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said there had been “some progress” in the latest negotiations about a ceasefire and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas. Meanwhile, an Israeli official noted improvements, although not significant ones.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June’s deliveries decreased by 1.56% at 4:56 am ET to sell for $61.06 per barrel. At that minute, Brent for the same month’s settlements dropped by 1.73% to go for $64.72 per barrel.
Israel strikes a Hezbollah missile facility in Beirut amid escalating tensions
nn: THIS is nothing to do with peace…. their will be no peace. this is bringing the price low for option roll over. i expect oil to pop. i remind you oil at these levels is still $5.00 off its recent lows.
Spanish govt: All resources devoted to blackout issue
The Spanish government said in a statement on Monday that it is “dedicating all resources” towards determining the origin of the massive blackout that hit the Iberian Peninsula earlier today and resolving the issue. The government noted Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and other officials travelled to the control center of the grid operator Red Electrica to “see firsthand the situation generated in the electricity supply.” Earlier, the country’s National Cryptologic Center (CCN) said it is investigating the cause of the power outage, stressing it cannot rule out a cyberattack.
Houthis vow strikes on warships in Red, Arabian Seas….. US expands sanctions against Houthis
The SPC-aligned Yemeni Armed Forces, a faction aligned with the Houthi movement, announced Monday that they would continue targeting “aircraft carriers and all enemy warships” in the Red and Arabian Seas until attacks on Yemen cease. Spokesperson Yahya Sare’e (pictured in video) said US forces committed two “massacres” in recent hours: one in Sana’a and another at a migrant center in Sa’dah, killing and wounding dozens. In response, Yemeni naval and air forces launched a joint assault on the US aircraft carrier Truman and its accompanying ships, deploying cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones. According to Sare’e, the operation forced the carrier to retreat to the northern Red Sea. His remarks came after Washington expanded sanctions against the group.
US expands sanctions against Houthis
The United States announced new sanctions on Monday targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels as tensions escalate over attacks on Red Sea shipping. The Treasury Department revealed the measures on its website, blacklisting three shipping companies and several vessels linked to the Iran-backed group, formally known as Ansarallah. Entities sanctioned include Bagsak Shipping Inc. of Mauritius, Great Success Shipping Co. of Lebanon, Zaas Shipping & Trading Co., and vessels registered in Panama, San Marino, and Guyana.
Spain Warns Widespread Blackout May Last Another 10 Hours….. THIS IS A MAJOR CYBER ATTACK
- Most of Spain and Portugal are suffering a major blackout
- Authorities are still trying to determine the cause of the outage
- Transport links have been disrupted, with some issues reported at airports
- Spain warns that it may take ten hours to restore power
- France is supplying power to Spain and has offered to provide more
Update on refineries: All of Repsol’s oil-processing units in Spain are suffering disruptions because of the blackout. It’s not clear if fuels production has been reduced or whether the facilities have been taken offline.
The four main plants — Cartagena, Bilbao, Tarragona and Puertollano — can process about 775,000 barrels a day of crude, according to Bloomberg estimates
Updated 5m ago
Spain’s grid operator Red Electrica has managed to restore power in some substations across several zones in the north, south and west of the country, according to an update posted on X.
“We keep working with all of our resources to restore the energy supply as quick as possible in all territory,” it says.
Updated 8m ago
Here’s our latest mainbar, with some clues now of what might have caused this huge problem. The outage was triggered by sudden changes on the network, known as oscillations, it seems. More to follow no doubt.
Sharp Power Swings Trigger Major Blackout in Spain, Portugal
Heavy traffic caused by failed traffic lights, in Madrid.
Portugal’s National Cybersecurity Center says no evidence has been found so far that points to a cyberattack for the failure of the electrical grid, according to news agency Lusa. That echoes the initial investigation of the EU’s Agency for Cybersecurity.
And Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president at the European Commission and former Spanish energy minister, also said there’s no evidence of a cyber attack.
“The main priority, of course, is to restore the electricity system and to assess and to understand what has happened,” she told reporters on the steps of the European Parliament.
Latest headlines coming in from Spain’s grid operator:
- Spain’s Red Electrica Restored Power in North, South, West Areas
- Red Electrica Says Power Restored in Some Substations in X Post
Updated 18m ago
It’s not just airlines and airports affected today. Public transport services have also been hit by the power issues, and there are queues as people wait for buses and trains.
People wait at a crowded bus stop in central Madrid. Source: Bloomberg
Some more news from airlines on how they’ve been affected by the blackout. Iberia said its systems are fully operational, but the Spanish carrier is allowing passengers with flights scheduled for today to change their tickets for another time.
“Given the difficulties in different airports, we offer all passengers traveling today the possibility to change their travel for another time,” the company says in a X post.
Low cost carrier Vueling said it’s working to minimize the outage’s impact on its operations. “Some of our flights may be affected,” it said on X.
Spain’s biggest fuel-maker Repsol has been forced to take its Bilbao oil refinery in northern Spain offline in the widespread power blackout.
Regional fuel supply will be closely watched, with at least two refineries on France’s west coast curbing output currently. Repsol also operates refineries in Tarragona, Puertollano and Cartagena.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is set to head an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, which has been called to discuss the blackout. Earlier, Sanchez headed a crisis meeting at the offices of Red Electrica, the national grid operator.
A dead ATM in Lisbon. Photographer: Zed Jameson/Bloomberg
Updated 39m ago
It’s no surprise that it will take the Spanish grid some hours to start back up. With such an extensive outage, there is a meticulous process to get things up and running again called a black start. Grid operators have plans in place for this that they hope to never use.
It’s a process to build the grid back up in a stable way, recreating the careful balance between supply and demand that was somehow broken.
A dark metro station in Madrid during the power outage. Source: Anadolu/Getty Images
In Lisbon, the city’s main airport says on its website that the power cut may affect operations.
Dylan Fraser, a US national from Stafford, Virginia, went to the airport earlier on Monday to catch a flight back to the US only to be informed through loudspeaker that his flight had been cancelled.
“They told us we had to leave the airport because it was closing,” Fraser said as he sat at the bar of the Sofitel Hotel in downtown Lisbon. “I have no idea when I will be able to go back.”
Initial investigations into the cause of the outages suggest a technical fault rather than a cyberattack, according to the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA).
“For the moment the investigation seems to point out to a technical/cable issue,” said a spokesperson for the agency in an emailed statement. “Nevertheless, ENISA is closelymonitoring the situation and we are in contact with the relevant authorities at national and EU level.”
The Spanish grid operator, Red Electrica, is working on restoring the supply but doing so fully will take between 6 and 10 hours, Eduardo Prieto, a company executive, said at a press conference. The outage is due to large variations in power on the grid.
I’ve been out on the streets of downtown Madrid, which are teeming with people trying to get home after many companies closed their offices because of the power outage. Shop employees were waiting outside businesses, while some restaurants remained open but were only accepting payments in cash.
Traffic police were trying to bring order to massive traffic jams. At a convenience store, people were buying flashlights, batteries, radios, camping gas, firewood and portable stoves.
A person shops at a supermarket using the torch of a smartphone, in Tremp, Spain. Photographer: Javier Mostacero Carrera/Getty Images Europe
The European Commission said it’s in contact with authorities in Spain and Portugal as well as the European Network of Transmission System Operators about today’s outage. A spokesperson said:
“The Commission will keep monitoring the situation and make sure that there is smooth information exchange amongst all relevant parties. As per EU legislation in place (emergency and restoration network code), there are protocols in place to restore the functioning of the system.”
Here’s our updated story:
Spain and Portugal Hit With Worst European Blackout in Years
Spain’s competition authority CNMC suspended a meeting to discuss BBVA’s bid to acquire Banco Sabadell due to the power blackout. The CNMC had been set to issue a final decision on the bid today.
And following on from BNEF estimating that power restoration may take hours, here are the latest headlines from the grid operator on that point:
- Red Electrica Says Restoring All Supply May Take up to 10 Hours
- Red Electrica Says ‘Various Hours’ Needed to Restore Supply
Updated 1h 4m ago
French grid operator RTE said it has already supplied 700MW of power for consumption in Spain and is ready to raise that to 950MW once the network is able to receive it. That’s equal to about to one large power station.
RTE added in a post on X that households in the French Basque Country had earlier suffered a blackout of a few minutes only and that electricity had been restored.
There’s no communication from authorities yet on the cause of the blackout. Still, according to Berryman at BloombergNEF, there are not that many things that can cause country-wide blackouts.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez held a crisis meeting at the headquarters of grid operator
Red Electrica to monitor the situation. Energy Minister Sara Aagesen also took part in the meeting.
A bar owner holds up an analogue radio transmitting news about the power outage in Barcelona, on April 28. Photographer: Sandra Montanez/Getty Images Europe
Red Electrica Says Spanish Blackout Due to Grid Oscillation
More than 10 gigawatts of power going offline in one instance is “such a rare event” that it’s “hard to have a reference point” for just how much time it will take to bring the grid back up to normal operation, says Ian Berryman, head of energy systems modeling at BloombergNEF. It could be hours, he said.
Traffic during the power outage on Plaza Colon in central Madrid. Photographer: Ben Sills/Bloomberg
Updated 1h 29m ago
Repsol’s Petronor refinery in Spain’s Basque Country said it halted all units at 12:30 p.m. due to a lack of electricity. As part of the security stoppage, black smoke was released.
France stands ready to help Spain:
- France’s Rte Says Ready to Provide 950mw of Power to Spain
- French Grid Operator Says Supplied 700mw of Power to Spain
- French Grid Operator Rte Comments on X
Updated 1h 33m ago
Regular business life is being disrupted, it seems.
CORRECT: Following up on Javier’s post on Spain power demand, data from grid operator Red Electrica showed it was in freefall just after noon, dropping more than 10 gigawatts. That’s more than a third of the country’s total electricity need Monday.
The website is now down and the data feed can’t be accessed. It’s not clear if that’s because of the power outage or because too many people are trying to access the data now.
(Corrects spelling of reporter’s name.)
Updated 1h 37m ago
The Spanish government should declare a so-called Level 3 emergency to allow the Army to deploy and “preserve order if necessary,” Madrid regional President Isabel Diaz Ayuso, one of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s most vocal critics, said.
Traffic lights not working due to a power outage in central Madrid. Photographer: Ben Sills/Bloomberg
Updated 1h 43m ago
Airlines are keeping a close eye on developments, and the main Madrid airport has cautioned that it’s experiencing a high degree of delays because of electrical equipment outage on the ground.
Discount carrier Ryanair said it’s “monitoring potential disruption to flights operating to/from all airports in mainland Spain and Portugal.”
Updated 1h 34m ago
While it’s too early to tell what caused this outage, the UK offers a potential clue.
Back in August 2019, there was a major blackout across London and the surrounding areas when two major power generators, a wind farm and a gas plant, unexpectedly shut off almost simultaneously during a lightning storm. Grid operators struggle to cope with such major unplanned shifts in supply or demand happening at the same time and that’s one possibility this time in Spain.
Here’s Madrid’s mayor on the situation in the city.
“I ask all people in Madrid to absolutely minimize displacements and, whenever possible, to stay where they are at the moment and keep roads clear. The traffic lights are down at the moment and it’s essential that emergency services can circulate.”
Updated 1h 49m ago
Data from Spain’s national grid shows a massive drop in power demand in a few seconds, Javier Blas notes:
Palestine warns of far-right Israeli incitement to blow up Al-Aqsa Mosque
Palestine on Saturday warned of growing incitement by Israeli far-right settler groups calling for the destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu reports. Palestine’s Foreign Ministry condemned an AI-generated video titled “Next Year in Jerusalem,” circulating on extremist Hebrew platforms. The video shows Al-Aqsa Mosque being bombed and replaced by a so-called Third Temple. In a statement, the ministry called the video “a systematic provocation aimed at escalating attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.” It said Israel’s far-right leadership feels “emboldened to advance its Judaization and colonial agenda amid weak international reactions to its ongoing genocidal crimes, particularly in Gaza.” The ministry urged the international community and UN bodies to treat the incitement seriously and pursue legal measures under international law to halt Israel’s unilateral actions against Palestinians. While Israeli officials say the status quo at Al-Aqsa is being maintained, the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem has rejected this claim. The status quo refers to the pre-1967 arrangement under which the waqf oversees the site and only Muslims are allowed to pray there.
On Monday, the waqf said repeated violations of the site’s sanctity mark “an unprecedented breach of its historical, religious, and legal status as a Muslim site reserved solely for Muslim worship.”
Far-right groups had earlier called for mass incursions into the Al-Aqsa compound during the Jewish Passover holiday, which began last Sunday. Since 2003, Israeli authorities have allowed settlers into the compound nearly every day. Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and unilaterally annexed the city in 1980, a move not recognized by the international community. Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, believing it was the location of two ancient Jewish temples.
Oil Prices firm….. Huge Blast Rocks Iran’s Missile Port….. IDF Goes All-In on Hamas
The physical market, however, is showing some bullish signs, according to ING, which last week noted that “signs of tightness in the prompt physical market should continue to support the oil market. This tightness can be seen in the strengthening of timespreads.”
The spokesperson for Iran’s Emergency Organization announced that following the powerful explosion at Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas, emergency teams were quickly mobilized, transferring 516 injured individuals to hospitals so far, according to IRNA on Saturday. So far, four people have been reported dead. Investigations into the cause and damage of the explosion are still ongoing.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted an airstrike on a home in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of ten people, Al Jazeera reported.
Israeli forces also shelled a house in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, injuring a number of Palestinians. Additionally, the IDF stormed the Al-Fawwar camp, which is located west of Hebron in the West Bank, firing live bullets at homes in the area.
Yemen’s Houthi militants on Monday claimed that a US military strike in a prison housing African migrants in the Saada region resulted in 68 fatalities and 47 injuries. The US initiative, dubbed “Operation Rough Rider,” continues to strike rebel positions while the Trump administration engages in diplomatic talks with Iran, the rebels’ primary supporter, regarding its expanding nuclear capabilities.
Previously, the US Military Central Command (CENTCOM) defended its stance on withholding specific information about its bombing operations in the country. “To preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations,” CENTCOM stated.
Russian defenses repelled an attack by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the region of Bryansk, according to Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the region. “Currently, our defenders are repelling another attempt at an attack using UAVs on the territory of the Bryansk region. The air defense forces of the Russian Defense Ministry are working to detect and destroy air targets,” Bogomaz wrote on Telegram, calling on the region’s residents to observe safety measures.
nn: it does not look like pax trump is working out so well…. oil shorts are really worried and updating their LinkedIn profiles.
Shocked by US peace proposal, Ukrainians say they will not accept any formal surrender of Crimea
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A peace proposal by the Trump administration that includes recognizing Russian authority over Crimea shocked Ukrainian officials, who say they will not accept any formal surrender of the peninsula, even though they expect to concede the territory to the Kremlin, at least temporarily. Giving up the land that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 is also politically and legally impossible, according to experts. It would require a change to the Ukrainian constitution and a nationwide vote, and it could be considered treason. Lawmakers and the public are firmly opposed to the idea. “It doesn’t mean anything,” said Oleksandr Merezkho, a lawmaker with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s party. “We will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia.” Unlike a territorial concession, a formal surrender would permanently relinquish Crimea and abandon the hope that Ukraine could regain it in the future. The Ukrainian public largely understands that land must be ceded as part of any armistice because there is no way to retake it militarily. Polls indicate a rising percentage of the population accepts such a trade-off. But much of the public messaging about land concessions has suggested that they are not necessarily permanent, as when Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko told the BBC recently that Ukraine may need to temporarily give up land as part of a peace deal. Saying otherwise would effectively admit defeat — a deeply unpopular move, especially for Ukrainians living under Russian occupation who hope to be liberated and reunited with their families one day. It also would call into question the sacrifices made by tens of thousands of Ukrainian service members who have been killed or wounded. U.S. President Donald Trump underscored the Crimea proposal in an interview published Friday in Time magazine: “Crimea will stay with Russia. Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time.” His comments offered the latest example of the U.S. leader pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to end the war while it remains under siege. Trump has also accused Zelenskyy of prolonging the war by resisting negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In return for territorial concessions, Ukraine wants robust security guarantees that ideally would include NATO membership or concrete plans to arm and train its forces against any future Russian invasion with the pledged support of allies. One scenario envisions European boots on the ground, which Russia rejects. Zelenskyy has said negotiations over occupied Ukrainian territory will be drawn out and will not likely occur until a ceasefire is in place. In late March, he told reporters after a call with Trump that the U.S. president “clearly understands that legally we will not recognize any territories.” He said giving up territory would be “the most difficult question” and “a big challenge for us.” Formal recognition of Crimea would also amount to political suicide for Zelenskyy. It could expose him to legal action in the future, said Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics and a former economics minister.
NN: The oil markets wetdream that a peace deal will soon come and more Russian oil will come to market is an illusion. in fact just the opposite more sanctions are coming
Huckabee Affirms U.S. Ties to Israel Iran’s grave threat to mankind
For Iran, ‘Israel is the appetizer and the U.S. is the entree,’ new ambassador said as he submitted his diplomatic credentials
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee conveyed a message to the growing isolationist camp on the American right as he submitted his diplomatic credentials on Monday: Maintaining close relations with Israel and countering the Iranian nuclear threat are beneficial to Americans. “The Iranian regime and all the hostility it has inflicted on the world for 46 years continues to threaten not only the peace of Israel but the peace of the United States,” Huckabee said in the ceremony at the residence of Israeli President Isaac Herzog. “Iranians have always said, ‘Death to Israel,’ and chapter two is ‘Death to America’… Israel is the appetizer, and the United States is the entree.” “We care deeply about the threats that face Israel because those are also the threats that face our country,” he added. In remarks Huckabee specifically directed at his “American colleagues,” he said that Israel and the U.S. “share the values of the Bible. We share the understanding that the Judeo-Christian foundation is the foundation of all of Western civilization. Without it, there is no sense of democracy, and love, appreciation and respect of the individuals. “It’s also important for Americans to know that, while we hope to be a good friend of Israel and provide assistance when we can, I never want Americans to think that we Americans are not greatly benefitted by our partnership with Israel. “People sometimes only think that Israel benefits from the United States,” he explained. “The truth is the United States benefits a great deal from Israel, and not just militarily. We certainly benefit from the technology, from the innovation, from defense systems that were developed here, but there’s a much more important and long-lasting side where Americans benefit in agriculture, technology, medical advancement. “It is not a one-way street,” Huckabee told JNS. “The relationship between the United States and Israel is not ceremonial. It’s deep. It’s rooted in our love of democracy and our love of the Judeo-Christian understanding that every life has worth and value,” he said. Asked about demands on Israel to resume aid in Gaza amid a now 18-month war in the Strip, Huckabee did not press Israel, saying that Hamas “brought this upon themselves.”
Noting that the entire war was preventable, Huckabee stated, “If Hamas had been a civil people, if they had been something less than savages that massacred, in the most vicious way, innocent civilians … they did not attack soldiers. They attacked civilians. They attacked women, children, babies, helpless, elderly people.
“Everything that people see there is not the result of anything other than the vicious hatred that Hamas harbors and carried out on October the 7th.”
Hamas is now “paying the price,” he said. “And tragically, so many innocent people are paying the price for the sins and the evil of these monsters.”
Regarding negotiations taking place between the United States and Tehran over its illicit nuclear weapons program, Huckabee said, “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. They will not be in a position where that they can threaten the peace, not just of Israel, but all of the people of the rest of the world.”
Expressing the position of the United States, Huckabee went on to explain, “Let’s never forget that the Iranians have not simply threatened Israel with extinction, which they have repeatedly over 46 years. But they have also threatened the United States. They don’t just say ‘Death to Israel,’ they say ‘Death to America.’”
He continued, “There’s an old saying that when people tell you over and again they’re going to kill you, you might want to take them seriously.
“I don’t think that this is just about Israel. Israel has often been called the little Satan and the U.S., the great Satan. I’d put it in simpler terms for the Iranians, Israel is the appetizer and the U.S. is the entrée. Whatever happens to Israel at the hands of the Iranians is intended to happen to those of us in the United States.
NN: see blaskmask market news and commentary: watch for the smoke
Trump: I think we’ll have a nuclear deal with Iran
United States President Donald Trump said on board Air Force One on Friday that he believes Washington will be able to strike a nuclear deal with Iran. Trump stressed he is looking for a simple deal, noting the US only has one goal, which is ensuring Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon. He claimed such an agreement would be good for Tehran as well as it would save it “billions and billions of dollars” since having nuclear weapons is “expensive,” as well as “dangerous.” The US president added that the talks between the two countries are “coming along very well” and that he thinks Iran wants a deal. He also insisted he would “much rather” have a deal than the “other” scenario.