Facebook post from Arlette O’Rourke:
(Long but worth the read- dot connecting)
THE SUNDAY REPORT: WORLD WAR THREE MATERIALIZED
July 26, 2026
It is difficult to deny the shape and structure beginning to form beneath our noses. World War Three is here, and we are in for a long ride. Peace talks won’t be getting us out of these moves anytime soon. The world is preparing its allies, and the lines in the sand are becoming harder to ignore.
This week, the Houthis attacked Saudi Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu. Ukraine struck an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea. Russia began preparing for the possible arrival of another 30,000 North Korean troops. Chinese forces injured a Philippine sailor while the United States, Japan and the Philippines conducted joint exercises in the same contested waters. China also held live fire drills in the Taiwan Strait and near waters claimed by Japan.
Europe, the Middle East and Asia are now connected through troops, weapons, intelligence, energy infrastructure and military supply lines. The countries involved are openly preparing for a conflict that reaches well beyond any one border.
The Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia is one of the most serious developments of the week.
Houthi forces launched missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco sites in Jizan and Yanbu. Reuters verified video showing a large column of smoke rising from the direction of the Jizan refinery. Trading sources reported possible damage to fuel and oil storage facilities. Two missiles aimed at oil installations near Yanbu were intercepted. Saudi backed forces retaliated with strikes inside Yemen, and forces on both sides of Yemen’s civil war began mobilizing again.
Yanbu is Saudi Arabia’s main Red Sea oil port. It has become increasingly important because Saudi Arabia’s East West Pipeline carries crude across the country from the eastern oil fields to the Red Sea, allowing it to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
The pipeline system reaches approximately 7 million barrels per day of capacity. The entire route depends on pumping stations, storage tanks, refineries, terminals and tanker access at the Red Sea end.
The Houthis are attacking the infrastructure Saudi Arabia needs to move oil around Hormuz. They have also declared a blockade against Saudi oil shipments and attacked Saudi tankers in the Red Sea.
Oil reached $100.69 per barrel on Thursday after the tanker attacks and threats against Red Sea traffic. Brent rose 7 percent in one day and finished nearly 40 percent above where it began the month. The Aramco attacks occurred after Friday’s market close, meaning the market had not yet fully priced the threat to Jizan and Yanbu.
The pressure is now building around the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el Mandeb Strait and the pipeline system connecting Saudi Arabia’s eastern oil fields to its western coast. Damage anywhere along that chain can slow exports and raise the cost of moving what oil remains available.
Oil touches everything. It runs farm equipment, trucks, cargo ships, aircraft, construction equipment and much of the machinery used to produce and distribute food. Higher oil prices move quickly into transportation, fertilizer, manufacturing and consumer prices. A prolonged disruption will reach people who have never looked at an oil chart in their lives.
The conflict also reached the Caspian Sea this week.
Iran says Ukraine attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, causing an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another. Tehran summoned Ukraine’s diplomatic representative and accused Kyiv of deliberately expanding the war.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had attacked a Russian warship and vessels used to transport military cargo connected to Iran. He also accused Russia of sharing satellite observations of American and Gulf military installations with Iran, including sites in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.
Iran has supplied Russia with weapons and military technology throughout the war in Ukraine. Ukraine is now targeting vessels operating within the network connecting Russia and Iran. Russia stands accused of supplying Iran with intelligence about American and allied positions in the Middle East.
The Ukraine war has reached an Iranian vessel in the Caspian. The Iran war is drawing in Russian surveillance and military support. The separation between these conflicts is disappearing.
North Korea is also moving deeper into Russia’s war.
Zelensky says Russia is preparing to receive another 30,000 North Korean soldiers and that preparations have been underway in Russia’s Voronezh region since June. North Korea previously sent an estimated 14,000 troops to Russia’s Kursk region under the defense agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang. North Korea is also preparing to supply additional ballistic missile launchers.
Thirty thousand additional soldiers would create a large North Korean military presence inside Europe. Russia would receive badly needed manpower. North Korea would gain battlefield experience against Western weapons, drones, surveillance systems and communications technology.
Those soldiers will carry that experience home. North Korea will also expect military technology, economic support and security guarantees from Russia in return.
The relationship between Russia and North Korea has already moved beyond weapons sales and political support. North Korean troops are fighting beside Russian troops. Iran is supplying Russia. Russia is supporting Iran. Ukraine is attacking the network connecting them.
China is drawing its own lines.
The Philippines says Chinese Coast Guard personnel struck a Philippine sailor in the head with a wooden baton during a confrontation near Second Thomas Shoal. Chinese vessels then used water cannons against Philippine government ships near Scarborough Shoal on two consecutive days. Both countries summoned the other’s ambassador.
At the same time, the United States and Japan joined the Philippines in five days of maritime exercises involving warships, coast guard vessels, fighter aircraft and surveillance aircraft. China responded with naval and air patrols in the South China Sea.
China also began two days of live fire drills in the Taiwan Strait following talks between American and Chinese officials. Taiwan condemned the exercises and accused Beijing of using military force to increase pressure around the island.
Japan protested after a Chinese destroyer conducted live fire exercises in waters Japan considers part of its exclusive economic zone. China rejected Japan’s claim over those waters.
The Philippines and Japan are both treaty allies of the United States. Taiwan remains one of the most dangerous points of confrontation between Washington and Beijing. Warships and aircraft are operating closer together, more often and with live weapons.
A sailor has already been injured. Ships are using water cannons and striking one another at close range. Live ammunition is being fired in contested waters. Every encounter creates another opportunity for a death, a collision or a decision that forces governments to respond.
Peace negotiations on one front will not unwind this.
The troops will still be deployed. The weapons factories will continue operating. The intelligence relationships will remain. The supply routes and military agreements will continue. Countries are preparing for conflicts that could last years, regardless of what is said at a negotiating table.
Americans need to understand how much the battlefield has changed.
Pipelines, refineries, electrical substations, ports, communications systems, satellites, water facilities, transportation networks and financial systems are all vital infrastructure. Damaging them can weaken a country without sending an army across its border.
Federal agencies updated a warning this week about Iranian affiliated cyber actors targeting internet connected operational technology in the United States. The targets include programmable logic controllers used to operate pumps, valves and industrial equipment. The FBI says the actors intended to cause disruptions.
These systems operate real machinery. A cyberattack can stop a water pump, interfere with treatment equipment, change pressure inside a pipeline, disable an alarm or shut down part of an industrial facility.
Physical attacks are also possible. Drones, sabotage and coordinated attacks against substations, pipelines or communications infrastructure could cause extensive disruption without destroying the entire national system.
An electromagnetic pulse also belongs within the range of threats people need to understand. The Department of Energy works with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense and national laboratories to address high altitude EMP risks to the electrical grid and other connected infrastructure.
We have reached a moment when attacks on American soil and attacks against the systems serving American communities must be taken seriously. No one can tell us what form the next escalation will take. It could involve cyber operations, sabotage, drones, military facilities, pipelines, communications, satellites, the electrical grid or an electromagnetic weapon.
Electricity operates water pumps, fuel terminals, refrigeration, cellular networks, banking systems and much of the transportation system. A serious disruption in one sector immediately places pressure on the others.
This does not require people to live in fear. It requires people to stop assuming that everything will continue operating normally regardless of what happens in the rest of the world.
The condition of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is another issue people need to understand.
The reserve fell by another 5.1 million barrels during the week ending July 17, leaving 311.4 million barrels. That is the lowest level since March 1983. More than 104 million barrels have been removed since the war with Iran began.
The oil is stored in underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana. Oil is removed by pumping water into the bottom of a cavern, which pushes the crude toward the surface. The reserve was designed to release oil about six times faster than it can be refilled.
The salt caverns also have physical limits. They were designed to remain stable for up to five full drawdowns. Repeated withdrawals alter the caverns. Every drawdown expands their volume and reduces the spacing between neighboring caverns, shortening their long term viability. Three of the six caverns at Bayou Choctaw have only one expected drawdown remaining, and two may have developed a pathway between them that could limit their safe use.
The reserve cannot be completely emptied with the assumption that it can simply be filled back to its former capacity later. Refilling takes far longer than withdrawing, and the caverns, wells, pumps and pipelines must remain capable of safely receiving the oil. The Government Accountability Office warns that aging infrastructure, maintenance backlogs and operational limitations are already putting that ability at risk.
We are using the country’s emergency oil while the infrastructure moving global oil is being attacked.
That is one more reason households should be prepared to handle temporary losses of electricity, water, communications, fuel access, refrigeration, electronic payments and regular deliveries.
Keep water, food, medications, animal supplies, cash, batteries, lighting and a radio. Maintain vehicles, generators and equipment before they are needed. Have a way to cook and a plan for communicating when phones or the internet are unavailable. Know where family members will meet if normal communications fail.
These preparations are useful whether the disruption comes from war, a cyberattack, sabotage, an extreme storm or a grid failure. They give people time to think and respond instead of being forced into immediate panic.
The structure is now visible. Saudi oil infrastructure is under Houthi fire. Ukraine has attacked an Iranian vessel. Russia is preparing for a possible mass deployment of North Korean troops. China is physically confronting an American treaty ally while holding live fire exercises around Taiwan and near Japan. Iranian affiliated actors are targeting technology used to operate American infrastructure. The United States is rapidly drawing down an emergency oil reserve that cannot be emptied and restored without consequences.
World War Three has materialized through alliances, troop movements, intelligence sharing, attacks on energy systems and expanding military fronts.
We are in for a long ride.
SOURCES
www.iea.org
U.S. organizations should review the TTPs and IOCs in this advisory for indications of current or historical activity on their networks, and apply the recommendations listed in this advisory to reduce the risk of compromise.
www.cisa.gov
CESER accelerated efforts to address high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) and geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) risks to the Nation’s energy system.
www.energy.gov
The Department of Energy's Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created to reduce the impact of oil market disruptions, like the war in Iran. Long-running...
www.gao.gov
www.france24.com
www.chosun.com
nationalsecurityjournal.org
By nightfall, Russian jet drones began raiding TPP-5 and other critical infrastructure facilities, according to enemy monitoring resources.
theconservativetreehouse.com
www.zerohedge.com
understandingwar.org
