The European oil embargo taking effect Sunday, July 1 blocks the sale to EU members of one-third of Iran’s daily output of 3.3 million barrels a day. From now on, EU insurance firms withhold cover from governments and firms operating tankers delivering Iranian oil. The embargo was clamped down after diplomatic efforts failed to halt Iran’s nuclear weapon program. Gulf armies led by Saudi Arabia are on alert for reprisals.  Two oil pipelines have been activated to bypass the Strait of Hormuz if it is blocked.

To pierce the layers of armor devised by Syrian, Russian and Iranian strategists to keep Assad afloat, the Western-Arab bloc is recruiting top Syrian generals to march on Damascus and unseat the dictator.

The Obama administration's decision last week to boost its military presence in the Gulf and supply its Arab allies with tens of billions of new weapons is a bid to win the galloping arms race with Iran and mark out American spheres of influence and contain Iran's drive for regional hegemony - whether or not it attains a nuclear weapon. Washington is closely watching the numbers Iran's ...