🇮🇷🇺🇸Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has explained how the US scummed Iran: “Previously we released American prisoners. The understanding was that they would release our money. We did our part. Several of the people that they had asked for were released. The money came from South Korea. Qatar was supposed to transfer it to us. When we did our part, the United States did not follow through. We tested it, but it didn't work. The United States gets what it wants, but it doesn't honor its commitment. In other words, we gave our money. Even now, we remain committed. We don't want to fight. But certainly, if they strike us, we will defend ourselves.”

🇮🇷 Iran completes mega railway giving Afghanistan its shortest route to world’s oceans   Tracklaying along the new 730 km-long Chabahar-Zahedan Railway has been completed, linking Iran’s only oceanic port to the intersection of its border with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Workers are now finishing station buildings and signalling systems, and doing safety tests, with the railway set to come online in early 2027.   Engineering feat The railway navigates the mountainous, seismically active terrain of Sistan and Baluchestan. To build it, engineers constructed 39 tunnels stretching 17 km, 201 bridges, and ~2k special drainage structures under tracks to prevent flash flood washouts. One of the most sophisticated projects of its kind regionally, the railway boasts ~90% Iranian materials and knowhow. Once up and running, the line will move people and freight at speeds up to 120 and 90 km/h, respectively.   Strategic significance ➡️ Besides being a boon for local exporters, the railway can give Afghanistan its best means to ship goods globally (using the existing Khaf-Herat route, already linked to Iran’s grid, or building a direct line to Zahedan). Recovering from US occupation, Afghanistan can provide the world with vast mineral wealth, plus an array of agricultural and artisanal goods. ➡️ Once a ~800 km extension through Mashhad to the Turkmenistan border is complete (work is already underway), the line will provide landlocked Central Asian countries their shortest route to the ocean to ship energy, agricultural commodities, food, metals, minerals and textiles.

Listen to how Peter Thiel twists reality to sleep better at night 🇺🇸⚡️ — Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel: I think we moralize way too much. And there's always a question I like to ask: What is the antonym of good? The moral antonym is evil. The functional antonym is bad. A Ferrari is an evil car because it doesn't get many miles per gallon. A Trabant is a bad car. It works. It's less good than a Golf car, you know, the former East German car. So, you know, if you're evil, you're at least competent. And if you're evil, you're not bad, and therefore you're actually maybe kind of good because you're at least getting something done. I think it's better to be good than evil.

🇺🇸/🇮🇷/🇮🇱 A Member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts claims the following: ‘On the day that the Supreme Leader was martyred at his official residence, his son, Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, was injured in this attack too. When the enemy realized that Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei had been transfered to one of the hospitals in Tehran, they targeted three different hospitals in an attempt to assassinate him. During the third bombing, Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei was present, and he was pulled from underneath the rubble of the hospital that was targeted. It was a divine decree that he managed to survive two American-Israeli bombings, and by the grace of God, became our new Leader.’

🇮🇷🇺🇸| Fars News has dropped a very juicy post criticising the reformists Fars says during Rouhani’s era, the reformists blamed IRGC’s missile tests and anti-Israel slogans for Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA, rather than holding US policy accountable itself. Reformists use overly simplistic explanations to justify concessions and promote “negotiation and agreement at any cost.” Fars’ article is hinting that the same political strategy is happening again with the current administration.

— 🇮🇷/🇮🇶 Iraqis in the city of Basra are protesting against the government’s decision to suspend flights to and from Iran

— 🇺🇸/🇮🇷 Iran’s Supreme National Security Council: 1. We deny the claim that Iran will retaliate militarily to the recent aerial restrictions that were imposed. 2. Negotiations between Iran and the relevant countries regarding the removal of aerial restrictions are being seriously pursued. 3. There are various non-military responses that can be applied to some regional airports if necessary, but we hope it doesn’t reach this point.

🇮🇷| Iranian flights to Turkey, Malaysia, China, Pakistan and other destinations are operating. Apart from the UAE, Iraq, Oman and Georgia, no new routes have been announced for cancellation, according to CEO of Imam Khomeini International Airport.

Nigeria Hands Over Its $700 Billion Minerals Sector To The US On A Plate 11 days after its mainstream news outlets scrubbed a story about this very development off their websites – for as yet undetermined reasons – Nigeria has officially handed its $700 billion-estimated minerals sector to the US on a plate. The “memorandum of understanding (MoU)” was signed by Nigerian Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, and US Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly. Just as the previously-deleted reports said it would be. This “MoU” effectively gives the US free reign over Nigeria’s critical minerals, and comes at the tail-end of a series of events stretching from October 2025 to July 2026. First, the US peddled a false narrative of a “Christian g*nocide” in Nigeria. Then, the US dropped bombs on Northern Nigeria, under this false pretext. Then, the US deployed its troops to Nigeria, as its officials “recommended” that the West African country end its strategic relationships with China and Russia – two of its largest economic and defense partners – in exchange for US military “support”. Then, the US withdrew its troops, leaving Nigeria no safer. Then @terraindustries, a CIA-linked Nigerian defense tech startup, secured a $2 million deal to “protect lithium mining operations in Nigeria”. All of this happened with the full knowledge and consent of the current Nigerian government, and here we are today. It will come as no surprise if the “Christian g*nocide in Nigeria” narrative disappears from the vocabulary of Washington in the coming weeks – like so many false pretexts before it. The US finally got what it was after all along. The people of Nigeria would do well to see this theater production for what it always was, and take the necessary action to install a leadership that actually answers to them. The people of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) did precisely this between 2021 and 2023, and the sky has yet to fall down.

Deadline Clock is ticking: 4 days remain Pepe Escobar says Iran's Supreme National Security Council decided on Aug. 16 that if the U.S. naval blockade wasn't lifted within 45 days, Iran "would reserve the right to strike U.S. forces." Day 45 is Wednesday, Sept. 30. "The window closes next Wednesday."

—🇺🇸/🇮🇷 President Trump has rejected Iran’s demands and expects to resume bombing Iran after the midterm elections – WSJ

The Pentagon quietly added 29 Navy sailors and eight Marines to the Iran war casualty count.

🇸🇦☢️ US intel warns Saudi Arabia could pursue nuclear weapons option Classified documents reviewed by Congress include a US intelligence assessment that Saudi Arabia has not ruled out developing a nuclear weapons program, US officials told The Washington Post. The warning has intensified scrutiny of President Trump’s deal to support Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear program, which could open the door to domestic uranium enrichment. Critics say the agreement could allow Riyadh to reach enrichment levels that create a potential pathway toward weapons development and trigger a regional arms race. The administration argues the deal strengthens nonproliferation safeguards and keeps Saudi nuclear cooperation aligned with US interests.

🇺🇸🇨🇳Trump-Xi summit wraps up in Washington Chinese President Xi Jinping just left Washington after a three-day meeting with his American counterpart. Despite the visual grandeur of the state visit, Trump has not secured major deals on US interests — instead providing China with increased security and stability. 🔴 Trade truce extended until January 10, preventing an immediate return to much higher tariffs 🔴 The summit produced no major breakthrough on tariffs, rare earths, technology restrictions, or other core economic disputes, leaving several US demands unresolved 🔴 Taiwan remains unresolved, as Xi pressed Trump to oppose Taiwanese independence and urged greater US “prudence” on the Taiwan issue 🔴 The leaders discussed artificial intelligence, but there was no clear substantive agreement on AI rules or technology restrictions. Xi emphasized keeping AI under human control, while Trump signaled a preference for leaving current arrangements largely unchanged.

🇺🇦 A German reporter asked Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko why his own children aren’t fighting in Ukraine. Klitschko responded: “My children have never lived in Ukraine. They were born in America and studied in Europe or America.” When the reporter pressed him further, saying he was avoiding the question, Klitschko insisted he had already answered regarding his own children. As ordinary Ukrainian families continue to send their sons to the front, children of the elites avoid service.

- U.S. Army Reserve is weighing whether it can supply Southern Command with a military police brigade, surgical teams and a theater-wide logistics command within 120 days, in planning U.S. officials say is aimed at Cuba.

This is how you make someone complient, obsessed with money, broken morals, and eventually a zombie that can take risks. First comes the drugs, then the money and then the methodiology of continuing addictions.

Sony Thang- The trillion-dollar question. The United States has spent, by conservative estimates, eight trillion dollars on post-9/11 wars. Eight trillion dollars. For eight trillion dollars you could wipe out every medical debt in America, thirty times over. You could eliminate student debt more than four times over. You could end homelessness in America many times over, which is actually a solved problem economically, requiring only the political will the bombs apparently deserve more than the people. The money exists. The money has always existed. It went to Raytheon and Boeing and Lockheed Martin and the contractors and the bases and the bombs. The choice was not between helping Americans and helping the world. The choice was between helping people and funding the machine. The machine won. Every time. And then the machine called itself leadership.

🇮🇷🇺🇸 — Assistant to the Iranian Supreme Leader and Member of the Expediency Council, Mohammad Mokhber: Alignment with the United States in implementing hostile policies will remain in the memory of the Iranian people, although our strategy in this regard is clear: Either flying in the region is permitted for everyone, or for no one. If Iran is unable to operate flights and receive airport services, no country in the region will have this possibility either.

🇺🇸🇸🇦🇮🇷⚡️ — Efforts to restart U.S.-Iran peace talks are facing opposition from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are urging Washington to maintain sanctions and its naval blockade rather than offer Tehran concessions, according to WSJ. Qatar and Oman are pushing for renewed negotiations, potentially as early as next week, including a proposed seven-day pause in fighting and a phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia, however, wants Iran to face further economic pressure following attacks on Gulf shipping and the increasing Houthi (Ansarallah) operations threatening its Red Sea oil exports. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told U.S. officials to maintain the blockade until Iran agrees to a new deal. Meanwhile, Iranian diplomats have presented proposals to end the war, but mediators say the IRGC has taken a harder position, rejecting new negotiating formulas and signaling its readiness for a prolonged conflict.