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👋 Good morning! It’s Saturday 14 March 2026. I’m Neil McIntosh, editor of The Early Line, and it’s great to have you here.
📣 You’re reading the weekend edition of The Early Line. Paying subscribers get the full version, with six talking points and film, TV and sporting recommendations for the week ahead.
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Have a wonderful weekend, all!
🌦️ The weekend’s weather: It’s a bright start at Early Line towers, but it’s not going to last, says the forecast: clouds and showers will move in for Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness today, and get heavier tomorrow. In contrast, Aberdeen and London will have two lovely, bright days - although the south will be quite a bit warmer, of course. (Here’s the UK forecast).
SIX THINGS TO TALK ABOUT
Trump doesn’t have a plan | How Scotland could win the Six Nations today | Why does Glasgow have so many fires? | Claudia’s new show | Flying taxis | The remotest of job opportunities
🍸 It’s dawning on the world that the Trump administration didn’t really have a plan to deal with a blockade of the Straits of Hormuz when it began its assault on Iran. According to The Wall Street Journal today, Donald Trump was warned of the risk: he just decided to press on (gift link).
The question of the Straits has always come up when the US and allies considered action in the Middle East, since the time of the first Gulf war, because of the risk it poses to global oil prices.
We are, sure enough, seeing those prices soar after Iran closed the narrow seaway, despite US defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s now-viral insistence that the Strait is open, and the only thing holding back shipping is… Iran shooting at ships.
According to experts quoted in today’s Guardian, the lack of a plan could stymie the US military for decades. The first six days of the war have cost $11.3 billion, and the operation is now running into exactly the sort of problems countless White House war games have, over the years, predicted.
The latest tactic is to threaten Iran: overnight, the US destroyed military defences on Kharg Island, which is vital to its oil exports. Donald Trump said the US would attack oil infrastructure there next, if Iran didn’t stop attacking ships. (AP)
Meanwhile, the war leaves Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves with tough choices at home, reports today’s Times (gift link). Support is on the way for rising fuel bills, but nobody knows how long this war will last. The problems in the Strait demonstrate that, even if Trump stops shooting, Iran may not.
That’s probably why American troops are headed to the Middle East right now: the mire of a ground war is entirely possible.
Upgrade to read the full Party Line, including details of how Scotland could win rugby’s Six Nations today, discussion of why Glasgow has so many fires, and a wildly remote Scottish job opportunity.
PLUS: find top TV, film and sporting picks for the weekend - including reviews of Everybody to Kenmure Street and a rich array of sporting excitement to enjoy from the comfort of your sofa.
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