Trump Tells Aides He May End War Without Reopening Key Oil Route, David Cay Johnston Joins 3/31/26

For all of Trump's threatening and blustering over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, it appears he's willing to walk away while it remains closed. According to the Wall Street Journal, if he forced Iran to open the strait, Trump would have to extend his "excursion" to Iran past the 4-6 weeks he was banking on. Instead, he tells aides that he can end Operation Epic Fury and work to get the Strait open through diplomatic means or via allies in the Gulf and Europe.  A Kuwaiti supertanker fully loaded with 2 million barrels of oil from both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia destined for China was set on fire in an Iranian drone attack. The flames burned for hours and are now out, but the hull of the Al Salmi tanker is badly damaged. It doesn’t appear to be leaking, but there are concerns it could. With oil prices soaring, the economic damage of losing the $200 million worth of oil aboard along with the environmental crisis would be catastrophic. The drone strike came hours after Trump threatened Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the obliteration of energy plants and oil wells. We’ll have the latest on the Iran war as we discuss it all with Pulitzer Prize winning author and investigative journalist David Cay Johnston. The Mark Thompson Show 3/31/26Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you’re more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.comThe Mark Thompson Show has an official new Facebook page.  Please join! Here's the link: https://m.facebook.com/TheMarkThompsonShow/Show sponsors:coachellavalleycoffee.com  - use code MarkT at check out to save 10%Zelmins.com - use code MarkT to save a 15% off your first orderSuite106bakery.com use code MarkT to save 15%