The political cost of war

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Written by Hanna Lee Copy Editor, Digital News

Good morning. As the Iran war rages on, increasing gas prices may become a larger political issue for U.S. President Donald Trump. We'll explain why below. We'll also look into a company with Canadian directors operating a lucrative but questionable pearl farm in Myanmar, as well as Canada's involvement with a U.S. flotilla.

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Why Trump can't afford to brush off Iran war's economic impact

U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to downplay the effects of the Iran war on the domestic economy — even as American drivers start to feel it already.

What's happening: Oil prices briefly spiked yesterday to levels not seen since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Trump dismissed the increase, calling it a short-term spin-off of the effort to take down the Iranian regime. He vowed that winning the war would ultimately lower prices "once and for all," in a sign of how important the cost of living is in U.S. politics right now.

Why it matters: The political damage for Trump and the Republicans will depend on how long prices stay high, said Dan Cassino, a polling expert, and how much the broader U.S. economy is affected this year. But if the Republicans lose control of Congress in the midterm elections this November, he will be handcuffed in pursuing his wide-ranging agenda for the last two years of his term. "Democrats are salivating at the thought of being able to say that 'President Trump increased your gas prices to fight this war in Iran,'" he said.

Read Mike Crawley's analysis here

In other news out of Iran...

War progression: Iran launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, whose main oil facility was struck. The country also named a new supreme leader in Mojtaba Khamenei, the late ayatollah's son. Trump said he was displeased with the move. Israeli strikes have killed nearly 500 in Lebanon, its Health Ministry said, while the Israeli military reported its first two deaths there.

An end date: Trump said the war would be over soon. Though he didn't have specifics, he said the U.S. was "winning very decisively" and "way ahead of schedule." His goal, he said, is for Iran to lose the capacity to develop weaponry.

At the House of Commons: MPs debated Canada's response to the Iran war yesterday. Prime Minister Mark Carney did not attend. The Conservatives criticized him for his absence and for what they called his changing stances on the war. Meanwhile, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, who outright condemned the U.S.-Israeli strikes, said MPs should abandon partisanship and focus on making sure the conflict doesn't escalate.

This Canadian family fuelled Myanmar's civil war with 'blood pearls'

A company with Canadian directors has operated a lucrative pearl farm in Myanmar with a state-owned enterprise that has ties to the country's murderous military regime, new records obtained by CBC News state.

What's happening: Belpearl operates through a network of related entities registered in jurisdictions including Toronto and Singapore. One of those, Belpearl Myanmar, has a pearl farm with two locations. Until recently, corporate records showed Canadians Marie Hajjar and Pierre Hajjar as directors of Belpearl Myanmar; other members of the family appear as directors or shareholders across multiple Belpearl entities in Asia and Canada. None of them responded to requests for comment.

Why it matters: The Myanmar regime has waged a civil war since the 2021 coup, and the United Nations has accused it of "brutal atrocities" and of killing thousands of civilians. Countries including Canada have since sanctioned the country. Nearly two years ago, the RCMP was asked to investigate the Belpearl arrangement as a violation of those sanctions. Belpearl Myanmar said its former Canadian shareholders were in compliance with sanctions law.

Read more here

Canada restricts drug boat intel from U.S. navy's Caribbean airstrike operation

The Department of National Defence (DND) says it has safeguards to prevent intelligence from being shared with parts of the U.S. military responsible for lethal strikes on small boats in the Caribbean.

What's happening: Canada is involved in Operation Caribbe, an annual event with the U.S. where a Royal Canadian Navy ship joins an American flotilla to try to intercept shipments of illegal drugs headed for destinations including the U.S. mainland. It operates in the same seas and pursues the same targets as Operation Southern Spear, the Pentagon's militarized anti-drug-trafficking airstrike campaign that has killed at least 151 people.

Why it matters: DND did not answer questions about Operation Caribbe's deployment of HMCS Yellowknife, a coastal defence vessel, until it was on its way back to Canadian waters. The ship sailed out of Miami on Jan. 29 to start its mission, while U.S. forces restarted its first lethal strikes in months on Feb. 13. Since the bombings began, the Canadian forces and government have had less to say about the Caribbean drug operations, despite having been open about them prior to. For its part, DND said its operations are separate from the strike campaign.

Evan Dyer has more