Five Things That Mattered This Week | March 13, 2026

Hormuz is dictating the war. Iran strikes Turkish territory for a third time. F-16s in North Cyprus. Trump and Epstein embrace in the Titanic pose. Everybody wants to rule the world. We've got art!

Good morning! It’s already Friday.

The week was weekin’. We did the doomscrolling. You get the juice.

The Ayatollah's gone. His IRGC hardliner son, Mojtaba, is the replacement. He’s not been seen and varying reports claim he’s wounded in some capacity, in a coma, and potentially missing a leg. There’s no confirmation on his condition.

Department of War head Pete Hegseth gave a press conference. The Strait of Hormuz became what we feared it would. Blocked, vessels hit by strikes and the Iranian regime has declared the Strait officially closed for business while laying mines to ensure maximum damage. To re-open the Strait would likely require an open-ended escalation leading to mass casualties. Türkiye deployed F-16s to contested North Cyprus, upping the ante. Greece has sent reinforcements. Ukraine sent drone experts to the Middle East to help assist against the barrage. Iran’s Shahed Drones are routinely used by Russia targeting Ukraine. Third ballistic missile from Iran into Turkish territory close to the NATO base of Incirlik near Adana.

There’s a Trump Epstein statue inspired by Jack and Rose’s Titanic pose on the National Mall in D.C. FedEx overtakes UPS. There’s a bet on Polymarket on when U.S. forces enter Iran (see real time voting below). A Michigan synagogue targeted. Suspect dead after injuring 31 congregants. FBI releases intel that Iran has aspired to launch retaliation drone attacks on the West Coast of the U.S. with California highlighted. The Iranian regime also sent a threat to diaspora dissidents. Don’t forget about “Tehrangeles”. Oil and gas are volatile. Financial burdens on average families are through the roof.

We’d never dump and run. We’ve got insights, graphs, juicy details and of course, art and music to exit your Friday with.

Tears For Fears gives us the architecture of ambition — appetite, denial, remorse — while Depeche Mode gives us the interior cost: judgment, burden, and the plea to be understood before the verdict.

Stay clear-eyed. You’re not hallucinating. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. — Ali & Asli