The Strait of Hormuz is blocked, and now the East-West pipeline is burning. Is the "8 PM Deadline" officially a war now?
Posted by Aston_Ma@reddit | collapse | View on Reddit | 74 comments
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
This image of the Saudi East-West pipeline map highlights the total vulnerability of global energy infrastructure in 2026. With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, this 1,200km "economic artery" was the last fail-safe for global oil supply. The recent drone strike on a pumping station proves that asymmetrical warfare can now bypass any conventional defense.
This relates to collapse because we are seeing the "New Normal": a world where global supply lines are severed in hours, leading to systemic energy blackouts. While Russia benefits from the skyrocketing prices, China’s industrial base is facing a terminal threat. This isn't just a regional conflict; it's the beginning of a domino effect that could trigger a total collapse of the globalized economy as we know it. We are one spark away from a permanent blackout.
AntiBoATX@reddit
I fuckin hate how every single author on Twitter and apparently now here uses the same damn ai to write their blurb. It’s so fuckin formulaic…. “It’s not just this, it’s SUPER DRAMATIC THAT.” over and over and over and over again.
edwigenightcups@reddit
I saw someone point out that AI uses "quiet" and "quietly" a lot and now I am noticing it everywhere. Everything is quietly quiet now.
BBR0DR1GUEZ@reddit
It’s not just a tumor, it’s not, at all
DementedDemetrius@reddit
"This isn't X; it's Y". AI slop.
forestapee@reddit
Like
A world war?
takesthebiscuit@reddit
And the internet is just as vulnerable with hundreds of subsea cables lying on the ocean floor waiting for some malevolent vessel to come along and snip them
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
Exactly. We’re one 'accidental' anchor drag away from the world going from digital chaos back to carrier pigeons. If they’re willing to drone a pipeline in broad daylight, those subsea cables are basically just waiting for the 'New Normal' to reach the ocean floor. Russia and Iran know exactly where the 'Delete' button for the global economy is
WloveW@reddit
Technically the undersea lines are broken on a regular basis, via nefarious means or otherwise. It would take breaking several at once for the world economy to notice.
europeanputin@reddit
Yeap, our DC in Taiwan has traffic from Philippines through US right now
Shadowpriest@reddit
Just wait for amphibious drones to strike and snip cables.
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
2026: The year we find out 'The Little Mermaid' was actually a psychological thriller about subsea cable infrastr
Shadowpriest@reddit
Beware of the 'Dinglehopper'.
LystAP@reddit
Ukraine’s still hitting Russia’s energy infrastructure and they’ll likely intensify their efforts. Finding alternatives to oil and other fossil fuels will be mandatory.
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ThrowDeepALWAYS@reddit
New shit has come to light man!
sonofdad420@reddit
this aggression will not stand, man
Napoleon_B@reddit
It’s funny, an Easter egg, when the Dude says this he’s quoting GW from a sound clip on the tv, earlier in the movie. GW famously said this about Iraq in Kuwait.
r-whatdoyouthink_@reddit
He also post-dates his check for 9-11-1991, ten years to the day before 9/11...
davasaur@reddit
He's saving all of us sinners
sonofdad420@reddit
I didnt know it was possible to not know that.
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
The Dude abides, but the global economy definitely doesn't.
harbourhunter@reddit
don’t worry, there will be more 🌮
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
Great! My gas tank was looking for an excuse to reach $100 per gallon by midnight anyway)
Kindly-Scar-3224@reddit
PowerandSignal@reddit
🔥🔥🔥
crowcawer@reddit
u/thedavidpakmanshow subscription confirmed
harbourhunter@reddit
my car loves the more expensive trump-gas, I can feel the difference /s
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
At this rate, your car will be the only thing in the family with a savings account
MyOtherACCBanned@reddit
We are tacoing the taco rn
Kindly_Log9771@reddit
Okay I missed something. Maybe. What’s with the taco stuff?
allonsyyy@reddit
Trump Always Chickens Out.
It's the (generous imo) assumption that Trump is spooked when the stock market takes a shit.
He's actually manipulating the markets for his personal benefit, but the acronym was catchy. Who doesn't love tacos.
MyOtherACCBanned@reddit
Trump always chicken's out I forgot who called him that I think it was some siplomat in East Asia
notislant@reddit
General Tsos chicken but trump.
Nyxbomb@reddit
I’m so confused. I see stuff like this being reported but then I go to news outlets and they’re still portraying everything like it’s all peaceful still.
dhoomsday@reddit
Trump got out of his fucked up ultimatum, though.
the_pwnererXx@reddit
I got 300 down votes for saying there would be no ground invasion. How are you guys so gullible? Nothing ever happens
BabadookishOnions@reddit
There doesn't have to be a ground invasion for a war to take place, what is constantly bombing eachother if not a war
SoupOrMan3@reddit
Is this nothing to you?
1tiredman@reddit
But shit is happening
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
‘Nothing ever happens’ is a bold take when the oil charts look like a vertical line. Stick to your 300 downvotes, they might be the only stable thing left by Monday
sonofdad420@reddit
eh the pipeline isnt as useful once they close the Red Sea straight anyway, which might happen as well.
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
That’s exactly why it’s a disaster. The East-West pipeline was the literal 'Plan B' designed to bypass the Red Sea and Hormuz. Now that Plan A is blocked and Plan B is on fire, there is no Plan C—unless you count Russia’s tankers laughing all the way to the bank
accountaccumulator@reddit
I heard that 40% of Russian oil exporting capacity has been knocked out by drones.
GiftToTheUniverse@reddit
They can transport the oil via lighter-than-air dirigibles! What could go wrong?
GiftToTheUniverse@reddit
No. Wait: submarines! If they build the submarines with windows then they can steer around the mines!
Paddy32@reddit
Why does USA allow senior citizens to be president? Trump is a senile lunatic. How are American people so docile and passive?
Severe_Intention_480@reddit
Because they have to live paycheck to paycheck, because they've been systematically propagandized and dumbed down since the 1970s, and because many have retreated from reality in favor of extremist Christian Fundamentalism.
Citizens United and the Electoral College helped, too.
Hir0Pr0tag0n1st@reddit
Weird. I've combed all the major news sources and there is no information on how extensive the damage is from the drone attack. Almost like they're trying to stave off a panic.
slapchopchap@reddit
same here, i think they want people to keep buying the pump before the true rug pull
freedcreativity@reddit
Ya, the crazy thing is really VIX (or really UVXY because the old school one was delisted). The volatility / fear index is somehow down 10% today… almost like they pumped and no one is even pretending they didn’t know the ceasefire wouldn’t last. How are 1-month futures on SPY not tanking?
freedcreativity@reddit
And that ship that ‘caught fire’ in the Panama Canal. That got scrubbed from feeds and I haven’t seen any follow up on how it was a routine malfunction or whatever.
ftf22@reddit
This might be an AI generated map, Yemen is labeled as Saudi Arabia...
ReasonablePossum_@reddit
All would be solved if taco had the balls to order an occupation of the little white and blue country, instead of letting himself be blackmailed.
BlackMassSmoker@reddit
We're not gonna get to play GTA VI, are we?
UpperRutabaga6482@reddit
Well sorta, it just won't be on a screen....
Ze_Wendriner@reddit
Carrot is pushing degrowth and forces decoupling from fossils lmao
Girl_gamer__@reddit
Israel bombed Lebanon killing almost 100 civilians, in a majority Christian area.
So the cease-fire is broken. Congrats America, you played yourself
RagingBearBull@reddit
i think the wake up call for most people will be something along the lines of Apple not releasing a new product.
then as Tim cook explaining how this was the domino that fell.
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
Tim Cook appearing in a black turtleneck to announce the 'iGenerator' because the grid is down would be the peak 2026 moment. 'It’s our most expensive energy crisis yet, and we think you’re gonna love paying $2,999 for a single spark!
GiftToTheUniverse@reddit
Solar panels integrated with pure water H H O splitting technology and H2 powered fuel cells. It will work forever. But you’ll need a subscription.
RichieLT@reddit
I thought we had the greatest day of peace ever?
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
It was the greatest 4 hours of peace in history. Truly a speedrun record. We went from 'The Art of the Deal' to 'The Art of the Drone' before the ink even dried. Turns out the 'greatest day of peace' doesn't include 1,200km of burning pipelines and a closed Strait of Hormuz
GiftToTheUniverse@reddit
It was a peace so intense we had to limit our exposure.
Napoleon_B@reddit
You can see tanker movement through the Strait in real time here
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:56.3/centery:26.3/zoom:8
Mostest_Importantest@reddit
I believe this should answer any war-related American-Middle-Eastern questions.
SilentDefeat101@reddit
😂
ManyReach7296@reddit
Some people don't say that it be, but it do.
Mostest_Importantest@reddit
Potatoe
😂
PowerandSignal@reddit
You found the missing "e" !
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
Classic. But in 2026, the question isn’t ‘Is our children learning?’, it’s ‘Is our drones hitting the right pump?’. Bush had his ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner, and now we have a burning 1,200km pipeline. Different decade, same strategic genius. We’ve graduated from boots on the ground to drones in the clouds, but the bill is still paid at the gas station
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The following submission statement was provided by /u/Aston_Ma:
This image of the Saudi East-West pipeline map highlights the total vulnerability of global energy infrastructure in 2026. With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, this 1,200km "economic artery" was the last fail-safe for global oil supply. The recent drone strike on a pumping station proves that asymmetrical warfare can now bypass any conventional defense.
This relates to collapse because we are seeing the "New Normal": a world where global supply lines are severed in hours, leading to systemic energy blackouts. While Russia benefits from the skyrocketing prices, China’s industrial base is facing a terminal threat. This isn't just a regional conflict; it's the beginning of a domino effect that could trigger a total collapse of the globalized economy as we know it. We are one spark away from a permanent blackout.
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1sg0fp4/the_strait_of_hormuz_is_blocked_and_now_the/of1ez0a/
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
Premium Trump-gas: Now with 50% more geopolitical instability and a hint of burning desert. Your engine might feel the difference, but your wallet is definitely filing for a restraining order against the gas station. At this rate, we’ll be paying for 'peace' in liters, not votes
Aston_Ma@reddit (OP)
‘Nothing ever happens’ is a bold take when the oil charts look like a vertical line. Stick to your 300 downvotes, they might be the only stable thing left by Monday