The United States sank five Iranian oil tankers; Iran answered with missiles toward a Jordan air base and claimed attacks on ships near Hormuz; Brent cleared $100. [1] Tuesday this paper asked why oil was not yet 100. Wednesday the number arrived with hulls.

Reuters described the biggest wave of shipping attacks since the war began. [1] Five sunk is a U.S. count. Ten claimed is an IRGC count. Do not average them. The prohibited zone is still not a published chart. A round number is not a polygon.

Keep Jordan in its own story. Keep a later oil print that belongs to a later edition off this page. Print 100 with the sinkings. Do not print a closed strait.

Print five. Print 100. Wednesday is not a closed Hormuz.

Five sunk plus 100 printed equals Wednesday's energy file in full. The zone stays unmapped beneath both numbers. Neither closes Hormuz.

Full files still leave straits open; Wednesday's file is full. Open straits flow. Numbers don't close water.

Five sinkings plus a triple-digit print still leave Hormuz open. Charts still owe coordinates. The round number is not a polygon.

Triple digits on Brent arrived beside five American sinkings. Iran's ten claimed ships stay a second count. One hundred is still a quote, not a drawn exclusion zone. Hormuz is open water on this Wednesday tape.
Triple digits arrived beside five American sinkings. One hundred is a quote, not a drawn exclusion zone. The round number is not a polygon.

Triple digits arrived beside five American sinkings. The round number is not a polygon. Wednesday's 100 is a quote, not a zone.

-- YOSEF STERN, Jerusalem