It seems to me that we are now in a long term standoff in the Persian Gulf with the Iranians keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed they say until the US makes concessions which I cannot imagine it will ever make. Whilst this is debilitating for the global economy, from an Iranian point of view this strategy carries risks and as I have discussed in various programmes Alex and I have done together, I am far from sure that long term it is the right approach. for Iran to take. Strengthening relations with the key BRICS states, ie. China and Russia, makes better sense to me.

The key point however is that it is unlikely that the Strait of Hormuz is going to reopen any time soon, and this is intensifying the steadily growing energy crisis, especially in Europe. With gas reserves at very low levels and uncertain supplies of oil and gas, Europe on top of all its many other problems must now look forward to a very hard winter.

Meanwhile with every day that passes Ukraine is getting more and more smashed. There has been a major qualitative change in the war, which in the West is unreported but which anyone who follows the war closely can readily see. Moreover the Russians following the Anchorage Debacle are in an implacable mood with Putin now talking about tit-for-tat seizures of Western merchant ships.

Much therefore to talk about.....