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It's Monday, March 16, 2026. I'm Albert Mohler, and this is the Briefing, a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview. Sometimes history comes down to relatively small places with very big significance. Right now, one of those small places is playing a big role in the unfolding history of the military action undertaken by the United States and Israel against Iran. That small geographic fe. Relatively small, about 24 miles wide, is the Strait of Hormuz. And right now, Iran has shut off all traffic, all transit, when it comes to shipping from the Persian Gulf into the Gulf of Oman. In order to get from the Persian Gulf into the Gulf of Oman, to get into the Arabian Sea, to get into the Indian Ocean, to get to sell your oil, you've got to go through the Strait of Hormuz. Now, there are similar choke points around the world, but the important thing to recognize right now is that one of those choke points is being choked. Iran knows that it can basically create massive, massive problems for the United States and Israel and for the rest of the world, particularly the Western world, if it can shut down the Strait of Hormuz for any length of time. And already it has become very, very costly. It's interesting to see how the national and international conversation has changed pretty quickly. So let's just talk about why. Why would a small choke point, a little, small geographic feature like that, this little curve in the earth in which you have a narrowing of the strait, the Strait of Hormuz, where, as I said, you have the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf, well, combined, it contains at least somewhere between 10 and 20% of all the world's oil for transit, for sale on the international market, has to get through the Strait of Hormuz, has to get into the Gulf of Oman, has to pass safely to the south, as I said, to the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, and beyond. The point is that if you can shut down that choke point, you can shut down international oil traffic in that respect. Now, this gets really, really interesting because what we're talking about here is something we've referenced before, and that's asymmetrical warfare. But let's look at that more carefully, because in this case, it's asymmetrical in more than one sense. Now, let's just talk about the big strategic issue right now. When you look at Iran able to control, or at least to shut down or to shut down as it wills, to shut down against certain ships, to basically create instability throughout the entire world because of the economic impact of shutting down the Strait of Hormuz Iran knows it has a trump card, so to speak. It has a card to play. In asymmetrical warfare, you have a nation like Iran, and not only is it vastly smaller in terms of its military power to either Israel or the United States, and asymmetry there just cries out at basically every single level. Then you also have the asymmetry caused by the fact that, as President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear, so much of Iran's military capacity has been wiped out, at least according to both the Israeli Prime Minister and the American President. The Iranian air force down period, Iranian ballistic missile capability basically nullified Iranian airspace controlled by Israel and the United States. But in asymmetrical warfare, you have, nonetheless the ability of a small, inferior nation in terms of its military to create a lot of havoc. And in the case of Iran right now, it has to do with rockets, missiles and drones that would be used against shipping, against, most importantly, oil tankers. The oil shipping that would go through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman and then of course, to the Arabian Sea. That means to Western markets, to markets all over the world. And so the asymmetry has to do with the fact that Iran does have a major ability at the present to threaten something that is precious to the west, and that includes, most importantly, the United States of America in this respect. And that has to do with oil prices. Now, energy prices are a massive issue worldwide, but in particular, when you look at the west and politically, specifically when you look at the United States, oil prices can be a major factor. It can determine elections. It has a great deal to do with political momentum. It has a ricochet effect eventually throughout the entire economy. Now, President Trump and major leaders in his administration have been trying to say, this is going to be temporary. There's going to be a temporary spike in oil prices, but we're going to be in control of this thing and don't worry about it. The problem is that the American people don't really understand how this works. And the asymmetry, as I say, it's not just in terms of a power differential. It's not just the United States with the USS Gerald Ford offshore and, and nuclear weapons always in bay. It's not about F15s and F35s and all the rest over against Iran's largely now defunct air force and sunk Navy. No, it has to do with the fact that, still, a power that doesn't have much militarily can still inflict a great deal of damage, especially when the target could be civilian shipping. That's, after all, something that will cost the United States a very great deal and would cost others around the world a very great deal. And it doesn't require an air force or even a navy. All it requires is a drone or a missile, a rocket. But there's another asymmetry here, and that is the fact that the United States of America is extremely sensitive in every respect to economic factors in every respect. And that includes the political respect, which is to say Americans are incredibly sensitive in political terms. When you have escalating prices and that hits them, for instance, at the fuel pump, and prices are going to go up at the fuel pump. There are also asymmetries that have to do with the way the economy works. The United States is very much a part, let's just say the obvious here of the global economy. And the global economy, it operates by different rules than most Americans understand. For one thing, oil is an international commodity. The United States is now a net exporter of oil. And so many Americans would say, well, you know, it really doesn't matter if the Strait of Hormuza shut down because we have all this oil and we have oil in reserves, so we can just continue to pay cheap prices for gasoline. It's certainly inexpensive on the worldwide spectrum. But that's not the way it works, because oil is an international commodity. And that's something that is based upon an economic reality that Christians ought to think about for a moment. I don't believe that there is an absolutely dictated economic plan or instruction in the Bible for a modern nation like the United States of America. I do believe that there are biblical principles that bear great fruit in a free market, in a market economy operating in the context of freedom. And it is also true that when you are looking at something like a worldwide commodity, that means that eventually what you have or what you want has, has a real value at any given moment. So just think about this for a moment. Let's just assume you have a gallon of gasoline. Now, handle it carefully. But let's just take that. That gallon of gasoline, how much is it worth? Well, you paid X for it at the fuel pump now a few weeks ago. Let's just say we'll round these numbers. You paid about $2, let's just say, for that gallon of gas, and it was worth about $2. It was worth $2 to unify it. It was worth $2 to the seller to sell it. Of course, there are distributors and there are refiners. There are all kinds of people involved in this but the point is, you pulled up to that gas pump and you paid about $2 a gallon. But now it's more than that, and it's about to be more than that. And Americans might say, well, we have all this oil, we are a net exporter. Why would that be the case? Well, it's because on a worldwide market, that 1 gallon of gas you have right there in your can, it has just become more valuable than it was if you put it in that can a couple of weeks ago. And that is to say you actually have more value in that can. It's not just that you are paying more when you fill your tank, but you actually have a can that is now containing something more valuable than was true just a matter of days ago. Now, here's something else most Americans don't think about. When you look at, for instance, the American economy. Oil prices on that global basis are factored into just about everything. They are behind everything. When you have a loaf of bread, you'd be surprised how much energy prices are factored in just to that loaf of bread that you find at the supermarket. At every stage when the energy prices go up, well, that escalates up, and eventually that means the loaf of bread is more expensive. But there's more than that. And most Americans don't think about this. Most Americans are. Are invested to some extent through a retirement plan, through some kind of pension plan, maybe even in private investing. You're involved in mutual funds and other things that are also a part of that economy. And that means that again, let's just say you don't have one gallon of gas. Let's just say that through your investments, in terms of your retirement Fund or a 401k or whatever, let's just say assets are going up because that price is going up. Costs are going up, yes, but you also have assets that are going up, especially when it comes to the direct asset based upon the commodity of global oil. Now, all this is going to be very frustrating to Americans at the gas pump. And of course, it could create a lot of economic disequilibrium and frankly, none of it good when it comes to a spike in oil prices. But at this point, none of it avoidable either, because we're at a point in which the United States is going to have to figure out the United States and Israel, and you might even expand that because of the economic pain that will be involved. There may be others who are now ready to become a part of this and find a way to eliminate the threat from Iran and Open the Strait of Hormuz so that that oil traffic can begin again? It is because this choke point right now is not just a geographic choke point when it comes to international shipping. It is a major geopolitical choke point. And just about anyone who can understand the situation sees that clearly. But that points to another issue of asymmetry. Because when you're looking at Iran, you're looking at the Islamic Republic, you're looking at a Shiite state, you are looking at a theocracy, you're looking at a dictatorship, basically, you're looking at a certainly totalitarian form of government, which is to say the leaders in Iran really don't care what the people of Iran think at any given time. They don't have to. But in the United States, it's a very different picture. Public opinion has a great deal to do with the political momentum in the United States. And of course, eventually it has everything to do with elections when they take place. And 2026 happens to be the year of a mid year election, which means the entire House of Representatives and roughly a third of the Senate, not to mention a good number of governorships open. And of course, we're looking at some very big stakes here. And that raises another issue in this asymmetry. When you're looking at a political asymmetry and a geomilitary or geostrategic asymmetry, you know, eventually it is a matter of will for the larger party. And that means right now, the United States joined by our ally Israel. So it is a test of will. And that's something that world leaders fully understand the big question right now. And here's where you see a good many people ready now to jump in. And I appreciate the point made by Alistair Heath of the Telegraph. So this is a major London newspaper and the headline of his piece is this. This could be a turning point in history. The moment the west could be lost. Now, given the devastation of the Iranian Air Force, the navy and all the rest, how could this be the moment the west is lost? It is. Because the survival of Western civilization depends upon will, the will to fight, and the will to see this through. Which is to say, it is very interesting to see how many of our allies around the world who at one point said they weren't sure President Trump should have started this war. They now are more concerned that he's going to end it too quickly. He makes some really interesting points in his essay. He says much of the commentary on the war has been ludicrously defeatist. The oil price Crisis needs urgent attention. But the US Military operations have been stunningly successful. And just days into the conflict, the regime has already been forced into its final gambit. He's referring here to the action shutting down the Strait of Hormuz. The Ayatollahs are attacking passing ships, threatening to lay mines, bombing oil infrastructure, and unleashing economic terrorism in a last ditch bid for survival. He goes on to say, quote, it's a sign of how far the Iranian regime has fallen. It has seen thousands of its critical sites blown to smithereens. It has suffered catastrophic losses in personnel. Its air defenses have been obliterated. Its air force is finished, and its nuclear program has been hammered. Its navy is being annihilated. The larger point made by Alistair Heath is that given the power of the United States and our allies, the power of NATO, the power of the combined military might there, there is no danger of the west being defeated militarily, especially by a nation like Iran or even multiple nations like Iran. The danger is that the west will suffer from a lack of will and simply let things go because the price of the conflict gets too high. And at that point, the adversary, rather than being defeated over the long term, is actually strengthened. Next. The Sunday morning news shows are always very interesting in terms of cultural indicators. And so abc, cbs, NBC, they all have these Sunday morning programs, and they're prestige programs. They cost a lot of money and they get a lot of attention, but they primarily get a lot of attention inside the political class. There are millions of Americans who watch. But quite honestly, one of the most interesting things about the Sunday morning programs is how much time is spent with political leaders fundamentally talking to each other. And so it was a very interesting thing to watch. And one of the most interesting developments is the fact that you have major leaders in the Democratic Party who are doubling down on the fact that they're calling this President Trump's war. It was an unnecessary war. It's interesting to see how many of them are now going way out on a limb arguing that there was no imminent threat coming from Iran. And, you know, when you look at this, you recognize that this is a conversation that's been going on now for decades. It goes back at least to 1979. It has been a crisis for the United States, a challenge for the United States, and at some point, apparently close to an existential crisis, at least in terms of the American economy. And not only that, freedom and liberty throughout that part of the world, and even stability throughout that part of the world, we have key allies there not only Israel, but many of the Gulf states and also nations like Saudi Arabia. And they are fundamentally now aware of the existential threat to their own safety and security posed by Iran. And it is not unprecedented for major Democrats to get on these programs and furthermore, to speak all across the media in terms dismissive of any Republican administration's effort, any Republican president taking this kind of action. But talk is cheap. It's really interesting to hear one of the words that many of the Democrats are using. They're saying it was unprovoked, it was unnecessary. Well, when you look at the history of Iran as a theocratic regime, you look at the Islamic Republic of Iran. It has posed a direct threat to the United States for a very long time. And then you look at the fact that Iran now has a substantial quantity of radioactive material that if not weapons grade, is, quote, near weapons grade. You're looking at the ability of Iran to do something many Americans don't think about. It's not just the creation of a nuclear bomb in terms of, of a nuclear detonation. It is also the possibility of a nuclear bomb just in terms of a so called dirty weapon that spreads very dangerous and deadly radioactivity. Something like that exploding over say, one of the capital cities or a population center there in the Gulf region would be something that is frankly too horrifying to imagine. And thus the urgency is there. When you talk about unprovoked and unnecessary, that's in a moral context that allows people to go on talking, head television programs and say what they think they don't have to take responsibility for. And quite frankly, in terms of the historical context, we have gone through seven presidents dealing with Iran and at some point something like this was going to become necessary. And here's where we also have to keep in mind that there's a short story, a medium story and a long story. The short story is what people think right now about the war, its validity, its necessity, its conduct, etc. There will be a long term perspective, but we're going to have to wait a rather long time for that long term perspective. The medium term perspective is something that most of us are likely to at least know about. And that's where of course, the pieces will fall together, the air will be cleared, and at least in some sense, a little bit of distance will have been created. But the problem is this. American presidents, well, governments have to take actions based upon the reality that is presented right now. And over time, when it comes to Iran, the greater judgment is falling upon those who did not act, rather than, at least at this point, those who did. Big news this Monday. We have to come back to the United States because this story is here not only in terms of oil and matters economic and political, it is also here in the form of three terrorist attacks that have taken place, linked to this larger story just in the last week, the last several days here in the United States. We're talking about an attempted bomb that would have been extremely deadly. And let's just say it was a bomb. It just didn't detonate very close to Gracie Mansion, which is the home of New York City's mayor. You are looking at what happened at Old Dominion University and also the vehicle that drove with murderous intent into one of the largest Jewish synagogues in the United States there in West Bloomfield Township in the state of Michigan. And you're looking at the fact that that man's dead. The attacker at Old Dominion is dead, and the two young men who were behind or at least were arrested for and have admitted responsibility for the attempted bombing there near Gracie Mansion. They are all linked one way or the other to terrorist groups in the Middle East. Just days ago, we talked on the briefing about the warning that came through government sources of loneliness, wolves, and also of terrorist cells activated. But when you look at this, it really is a major matter of concern. Let's just go back to Gracie Mansion. The two young men, both teenagers, said they were activated and inspired by the Islamic State, isis. The same thing was true with the shooter at Old Dominion University, who, by the way, that suspect was someone who had served in the US Military, in the National Guard. He was someone who had already been found guilty, convicted of the crime of complicity with isis, and he was sentenced to prison. If he had served that prison term, he would still be in prison, not able to conduct this terrorist act. How in the world do we live in a situation in which someone can be convicted of complicity with ISIS and then released into the general population and can get a weapon and then go into a university like Old Dominion University and look for an ROTC class and then intentionally seek to kill people in that class. One ROTC officer, and then he was killed himself. What same society allows this to take place? And so it was isis. It was the Islamic State complicit in New York, and they're in Virginia, and with deadly effect in Virginia, deadly intention in New York, and then the attack on the synagogue there in the Detroit area, undertaken by someone of whom, it was quickly reported, someone who had lost family members in Israel's military action. In Lebanon against Hezbollah. Now, remember, Hezbollah is a basically Shiite terrorist organization largely funded by and under the control of Iran. And so this is a man, it is believed that his brother and two children, as well as another brother were killed in a strike on a three story building there in Lebanon. It was an Israeli action. Now, Israel has reported that the brother, the first brother mentioned here, was actually a major commander in Hezbollah. And so Israel saying this was an intentional military strike. But you'll notice the relative, not there in Lebanon, but here in the Detroit area, then decided to ram his truck into a synagogue. By the way, a synagogue that also had a daycare with so many children in it. It was not an accidental targeting, it was intentional. All this should remind Christians that the clash of worldviews sometimes comes down to something just this horrifying. And especially when you're talking about the Islamist agenda that is so transparent in these headlines, whether it's New York or Virginia or Michigan, we're talking about now undeniable links to Islamic terrorist organizations. And this is in the United States of America. And if military intelligence and national security, homeland security intelligence is accurate, we can expect there very well may be more of these coming. And it just reminds us what is at stake not just in the Persian Gulf, not just there in the Strait of Hormuz, not just in Iran, not just in the Middle east, but virtually everywhere. Because when it comes to understanding the threat that comes from moral evil in this world, well, let's just say that moral evil is also a global commodity. We need to be very, very thankful that the children there, in that daycare program, in that synagogue very near Detroit, we need to be very thankful they were not hurt. But you can see the intention, ramming a vehicle into the hallway, just trying to do as much damage as possible. Let's just repeat the targeting so intentional. The rise and spread of overt antisemitism in this respect is just something we need to know. And it has become a major issue for Jewish congregations. The front page of the Saturday edition of the New York Times print edition just points to the fact that it's a new security reality, a new public safety reality for Jewish congregations all over the world. That ought to serve as an awakening for us all and one that should trouble us all and understand that we are living in a very different age. And all of a sudden we're now living in a different situation, just in a matter of the changes that have taken place over the course of the last two to three weeks. Something that's not going to be over really soon. But as we end on this theme today, I want to go to a very troubling story from the Telegraph. That's a major London newspaper. The headline Is this the 27 British universities where students mourned Ayatollah's death. So when we're talking about problems inside Western nations and the stupidity, quite frankly, the naivete, and that's an inadequate word for many Western governments, here you have one of the most influential establishment newspapers in Britain that tells us, quote, students of at least 27 British universities have mourned the death of the late Ayatollah, the former supreme leader of Iran, according to a new report. And so you're talking about action vigils and public demonstrations held on British university campuses, 27 of them protesting the death of Iran's ayatollah. It's very disturbing that at this point, the British government, currently a Labour Party, that's a leftist government in the United Kingdom, seems unable to deal with this or perhaps unwilling to deal with with this. It can show you that even in countries such as Britain, in one sense, time appears to be running out for the recovery of any kind of moral sanity on these issues. You also have to worry that in the United States, at least state by state and campus by campus, how much better would the situation be? A lot to think about here and of course, for Christians, a lot for us to pray about as well. Thanks for listening to the briefing. For more information, go to my website@albertmohler.com youm can follow me on X or Twitter by going to x.comalbertmohler for information on the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, go to spts.edu for information on Boyce College, just go to boycecollege.com I'll meet you again tomorrow for the briefing.