It's Monday. Welcome to the P.D.B. Afternoon. Afternoon. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up,

the fight for the Strait of Hormuz continues. The White House is working to assemble a multinational

naval coalition aimed at reopening the critical oil choke point. But after loudly criticizing

allies over the past couple of weeks, are there going to be any takers? Later in the

show, Israel launches ground operations in southern Lebanon, as clashes with Hezbollah intensify along

its northern border. But first, today's afternoon bulletin. With the state of Hormuz, quickly becoming

the most critical flashpoint in the war against Iran, the White House

is now working behind the scenes to assemble what officials are calling a, quote, Hormuz coalition.

That just rolls off the tongue, a multinational effort aimed at reopening the narrow waterway

after Tehran's attacks have disrupted global oil shipments and, of course, sent energy prices climbing.

According to reports, the Trump administration hopes to announce the coalition as soon as this week.

The idea is to bring together a group of allied nations, willing to escort commercial tankers

through the narrow waterway, ensuring that oil and gas shipments can once again move safely

out of the Persian Gulf. The stakes here are obviously significant. Roughly 20% of the world's

oil supply passes through that narrow stretch of water every day. But oil isn't the only thing

moving through the strait. About one-fifth of the world's liquefied

natural gas, the LNG shipments, pass through it as well. Major energy exporters, including

Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar all rely on this strait to move

their oil and gas to global markets. As a result of the Iranian regime's threats and

attacks on commercial vessels, traffic through the strait has almost ground to a halt.

Tankers carrying Iranian crude are still being allowed through, shocking, while shipments

from neighboring Gulf states are being blocked. That allows Tehran to keep its own oil flowing, largely to China, with some moving

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