EPIC FURY: Trump’s Play to Starve the Dragon?

STILL UP FOR THAT CHAT, JON?

How it started vs How it's going for the Pod Save America bros 👇 https://t.co/exaLNOAA7Q pic.twitter.com/8wtoVGkyUq

— Izengabe (@Izengabe_) March 5, 2026

TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENT MIGHT BE THE ONLY SECURITY AGAINST GETTING BLOWN UP: Trump says he must be involved in picking Iran’s next leader.

President Trump told Axios in an interview Thursday that he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran’s next leader — just as he was in Venezuela.

Trump revealed this exclusively in an eight-minute phone call — his second conversation with us to explain his war planning.

Why it matters: Trump acknowledged that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei, is the most likely successor — while making clear he finds that outcome unacceptable.

For several days, the Iranian regime has postponed the announcement of the new supreme leader. But statements by Iranian politicians on Thursday suggested an announcement could be imminent.

What he’s saying: “They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela,” Trump said.

He added that he refuses to accept a new Iranian leader who would continue Khamenei’s policies, which he said would force the U.S. back to war “in five years.”

“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said.

The big picture: Trump’s comments represent an extraordinary claim of American power over Iran’s political future, further muddying the objectives of the massive U.S. military campaign he launched on Saturday.

Muddying? I do not think that word means what you think it means, Axios.

Previously: Regime Change or Regime Compliance?

I THOUGHT THEY BANNED CROSS-DRESSERS:

TFW your society has brutally subjugated women for 50 years and now you gotta avoid the consequences by dressing up as one https://t.co/EBp0i4MKkV pic.twitter.com/WcGWz9WdV5

— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) March 6, 2026

SHARKS GOTTA SWIM, BATS GOTTA FLY: Bill Clinton Can Find a Loophole in a Stop Sign. Now He’s Rewriting His Oath Record.

THEY JUST HAD A NAVY AROUND HERE A MINUTE AGO: Admiral Brad Cooper: U.S. Takes Out 30 Iranian Ships as Major Warship Burns.

COLONIZATION, STRAIGHT UP:

❌ El Ayuntamiento de Barcelona aconseja no bailar ni poner música en los colegios en el Ramadán

✍️ Informa Esther Armora https://t.co/CMiybgmBLI

— ABC.es (@abc_es) March 5, 2026

Translation: “Barcelona City Council advises against dancing or playing music in schools during Ramadan.”

BATTLESWARM: Iran Strikes Day 5. “The more the Islamic Republic of Iran lashes out at other countries in the region, the more obvious it is that eliminating the regime and its nuclear ambitions was the right call.”

IF YOU ENJOY ONE FOR LUNCH, MAY I RECOMMEND A LIGHT DINNER? McDonald’s gargantuan ‘Big Arch’ burger contains two-thirds of your daily caloric intake—and that’s without fries or a drink.

It does look good, though.

HMM:

Reports : Esmail Qaani, head of Iran’s Quds Force has been executed by IRGC. He has survived all assassination attempts so far & was even with Khamenei during US-ISRAEL bombing but escaped. Earlier he was taken into custody by the IRGC on suspicion of being a Mossad agent. pic.twitter.com/dwT6R3p3CD

— Baba Banaras™ (@RealBababanaras) March 5, 2026

ICYMI: The Weirdest Thing Just Happened in Ukraine… Again.

REAL ESTATE: Home sellers are relisting properties at fastest pace in a decade, but spring supply is still low. “The January figures come as Redfin reported a record number of sellers pulling their homes off the market last September. Close to 85,000 sellers delisted, up 28% from September 2024. Higher mortgage rates last year, still-high home prices and growing uncertainty in the economy sidelined buyers last fall, taking sellers out of the driver’s seat, where they had been in the years during and just after the pandemic.”

EPIC FURY: Trump’s Play to Starve the Dragon?

THEY SHOULD HAVE MADE PEACE: Iran’s Underground ‘Missile Cities’ Have Become One of Its Biggest Vulnerabilities. “U.S. and Israeli war planes and armed drones are circling over the dozens of cavernous bases, striking missile-carrying launchers when they emerge to fire. Meanwhile, waves of heavy bombers have dropped munitions on the sites, apparently entombing the Iranian weapons below ground in some locations.”

DISPATCHES FROM THE RED ZONES: Missouri Amendment Proposal Seeks to Recognize Personhood for the Unborn.

HMM: Georgia Man Found Guilty of 2nd Degree Murder After Giving his School Shooter Son a Gun. “Jurors took less than two hours to find Colin Gray guilty of all charges in the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, northeast of Atlanta. Gray now joins a growing number of parents being held responsible in court after their children were accused in shootings.”

MIDWIFE, AT ANY RATE: Jimmy Carter: The Father of the Islamic Revolution.

YES: ‘MAGA civil war’ over Iran is another figment of media’s imagination.

ABC chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl had what he felt was a big scoop at the onset of American and Israeli strikes against Iran.

“I just heard back from Tucker Carlson,” Karl reported. “He’s just one person, [but] a prominent one in Trump’s movement. But this is a momentous and potentially defining or maybe redefining move for President Trump.

“He got into politics, in part, promising to end what he called forever wars. He was harshly critical of the war with Iraq. He claimed that he had always been against it. And now he finds himself starting what could be a major conflict with Iran.”

Was there a MAGA divide over President Donald Trump‘s decision to strike Iran? Were GOP legislators revolting against the commander in chief? If Congress were to vote on a War Powers Resolution, would it not pass, given this alleged divide?

Of course, Karl, who recently served as a White House Correspondents Association president, didn’t reach out to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) or House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), instead opting for Tucker Carlson.

Did you expect better from Jon Karl?

Or from Carlson, for that matter.

THAT’S BECAUSE WE DRILLED, BABY, DRILLED: Climate Expert Says U.S. Can Handle Energy Needs Amid Iran Conflict.

Remember, the folks opposed to fracking would have left us vulnerable — a feature to them, not a bug.

NOVEMBER PREVIEW: Several key congressional races impacted by Texas’ new redistricting law.

HMM:

🚨BREAKING: Bloomberg reporting that China has just halted all exports of diesel and gasoline.

Things are getting interesting.

The Strait of Hormuz shows no full closure on shipping trackers right now, at least not publicly.

But what if it’s just not closed for everyone?… pic.twitter.com/OiRlzuAXIT

— Walter Curt (@wcdispatch) March 5, 2026

More:

I started running the numbers on this and it’s lining up too cleanly.

China imports about 11 million barrels of crude per day, with roughly 40-45% of that flowing through the Strait of Hormuz (mainly from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran).

Their strategic petroleum reserves are estimated by analysts at around 90-100 days of total consumption at current burn rates of ~14-15 million barrels/day including refined products.

Cut off from Hormuz and they’re staring down the barrel of empty tanks in roughly three months.

That’s not a sustainable position. Their only realistic play would be immediate, heavy domestic rationing, factories slowed, trucking curtailed, civilian fuel limits, the works. That would slam their economy and ripple hard through global supply chains.

Remind me again…

How long does a president have under the War Powers Resolution before he has to go to Congress for an extension on military actions?

Oh, right—90 days.

Nobody seems to think Epic Fury will last as long as 90 days, but nobody really knows, either.

MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE: Trump HHS Issues Warning to States: Hands Off Kids of Parents Who Reject Gender Ideology.

ACTUALLY, PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE KNOWS EXACTLY WHO NEEDS TO HEAR THIS…:

Idk who needs to hear this but the U.S. is attacking legitimate military targets.

Iran is attacking whatever it can hit. Civilians or otherwise.

We are not the same.

Spare us your outrage. Direct it to the terrorists flying suicide drones into residential areas.

— InfantryDort (@infantrydort) March 5, 2026

…but the people who do need to hear it seem to be paid to not listen.

BLUE CITY BLUES: Starbucks leaving Seattle? Coffee giant to move corporate jobs to Nashville. “Starbucks will relocate a portion of its Seattle-based corporate workforce as it expands operations to Tennessee. According to the coffee giant, the move will affect roles tied to direct and indirect sourcing operations teams within Starbucks’ supply chain organization. Starbucks claimed that Seattle will remain its North America and Global Support headquarters, but said it will continue evaluating whether additional teams and roles should transition to Nashville over time.”

A REMINDER THAT EZRA KLEIN’S “JOURNOLIST” NEVER DIED; IT JUST MOVED TO SLACK:

“International waters” is the new “he crossed state lines.” An utterly irrelevant qualifier meant to make you assume something nefarious.

BTW, the Geneva Convention specifically mentions submarines as an exception to assistance expectations because of practical limitations. pic.twitter.com/IY4pMUwMCU

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) March 5, 2026

Narratives don’t establish themselves, bub.