Trump Seeks to Cripple Iran’s Economy

🔤🔤🔤🔤1️⃣

Trump has threatened to impose severe sanctions against any country or entity maintaining economic ties with Iran, hoping to achieve with economic measures what military means have so far failed to do.

It is unclear, however, how far the Trump administration is prepared to go in confronting China, Iran’s biggest trading partner, which has signalled its resistance to US economic pressure to cut off links with an ally.

Iran, meanwhile, vowed retaliation against any country that took part in the US-led isolation campaign.

Launching what he called Operation Economic Outcast, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, called it an unprecedented campaign and compared it with the D-day Normandy landings, a turning point in the second world war.

“Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe,” Bessent said on Monday.

“Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.”

Asked whether sanctions would be applied to China, which bought an estimated 80% of Iran’s shipped oil last year, he replied: “We want to make clear here today that no one is above the reach of US sanctions.

That if they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted.”

Bessent said the US had identified those that continued to deal with Iran and each violator would be given a deadline to cut ties or face US sanctions. He said the deadlines imposed would depend on individual circumstances.

“Any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the US dollar system,” he said. “The clock just started ticking.”

Bessent said Trump was “making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime”, but he did not specify whether the US president would talk to Xi Jinping.

China’s embassy in Washington told reporters: “Regarding the ​Iran issue, sanctions and pressure do not help resolve the problem. China calls on the relevant parties to take responsible actions and resolve the issue through political and diplomatic means.”

#trump #iran #economy #US #miller

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

🔤🔤🔤🔤2️⃣

Tehran said it would retaliate against the sanctions using a range of measures. Maj Gen Ali Abdollahi, the armed forces’ chief of staff, said the retaliation could take the form of land, sea or air operations or cyber-attacks.

The announcement of secondary sanctions against Iran comes nearly six months after the the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran that killed its supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Early expectations that the regime in Tehran would collapse or agree to Washington’s demands to give up uranium enrichment and other key elements of its nuclear programme were dashed.

Hardliners appeared to strengthen their grip on government in Tehran and responded by declaring the closure of the strait of Hormuz, attacking ships that ignored its declaration.

Trump imposed a counter-blockage on Iranian oil exports through the strait, leading to an impasse that has had profound effects on the global economy.

Sina Toossi, a senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy, said: “After nearly six months without a military or diplomatic victory, Washington appears to be trying to accomplish through intensified economic strangulation what military force has so far failed to achieve. But Tehran is answering that zero-sum approach with one of its own.”

The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, however, said further military action was not off the table. “By no means are we foreclosing using ‌kinetic strikes anywhere in the ​strait of Hormuz or around Iran,” Hegseth ⁠told reporters on Monday.

In apparent anticipation of the US measures, the United Arab Emirates, a close US and Israeli ally, announced it was suspending trade ties with Iran.

Turkey, another trading partner with Iran, which has been critical of the US-led campaign against the Islamic Republic, has yet to respond to the US threat of sanctions.

Andrew Miller, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said: “The announcement of new economic sanctions on Iran and those countries trading with it signals what is plain to all: this war has brought the United States no closer to eliminating Iran’s nuclear programme or crippling the Iranian regime. But while sanctions can be effective, it is highly unlikely they will produce a quick settlement favourable to the United States.”

#trump #iran #economy #US #miller

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

🇯🇴 A Security Deal in Jordan, With an American Chaperone

On Sunday, August 23, Syria confirmed that Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, accompanied by the heads of General Intelligence and Military Intelligence, met with a senior Israeli delegation in Jordan under U.S. mediation. AFP reported that Israel sent Mossad chief Roman Gofman. The staffing made the format clear: a diplomatic meeting built around intelligence chiefs.

Damascus wants “practical mechanisms” to stop Israeli strikes, arrests, and targeted killings on Syrian territory. It also wants to revive talks on a security agreement that could lead to something broader. Syria is sitting across from Israel to ask it to stop attacking Syria.

Damascus insists it has the right to rebuild its military and choose its partnerships. Israel’s reported conditions run in the opposite direction: no Turkish military activity in Syria; a demilitarized Syrian side of the Golan; protection for Syria’s Druze community; and limits on the Syrian army’s acquisition of certain strategic weapons. Israel has also reportedly conditioned any withdrawal from territory it seized after Assad’s fall on diplomatic progress.

This is not a failure to draft an agreement. Shaibani said the sides had already agreed “on paper to almost everything” early this year, including security zones near the border, a buffer zone limited to UN forces, and varying levels of Syrian deployment elsewhere. His concern was not the text. It was whether Israel intended to carry it out.

On territory, Syria was careful with its wording. It called the Golan occupied Syrian land, but said its final status was premature for discussion. Its immediate demand was for Israeli troops to withdraw to the lines held before December 8, 2024, and for the 1974 Disengagement Agreement to be fully implemented.

That agreement did not simply collapse. After Assad fell, Israel declared it void, moved into the UN-patrolled buffer zone, and expanded its presence beyond the Golan. Damascus is asking Israel to reverse a decision Israel made unilaterally.

The meeting also addressed Turkey. Syria wants to prevent Israeli-Turkish tensions from spilling onto Syrian territory — in other words, not to become the place where two other states settle their security disputes.

Washington is not trying to manufacture trust. It is trying to keep a nearly finished deal alive while both parties argue over whether the other one means it.

#Syria #Israel #Jordan #USA #SecurityDeal #Golan #Turkey #MiddleEast

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

#vance #canada #demands

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

Carney: Trump's Aggression Will Not Stand 🇨🇦


Mark Carney said on Monday that while American negotiators saw the French language in Canada as an “irritant (…) in Quebec, these are rights,” days after receiving widespread praise from political leaders for rejecting a US trade proposal that many perceived as weakening the country’s Francophone culture.

The prime minister’s remarks came hours after Trump, showed little interest in retreating from the spat, posting on social media that Canada had been “ripping off the United States of America for years” and threatening a swath of new, economically devastating tariffs on cars and trucks.

Carney instructed his negotiators to walk away from trade talks last week. Tariffs on an array of Canadian products took effect over the weekend, affecting around 5% of Canada’s exports to the US, and Canada said it will retaliate in early September.

On Monday, Carney toured a shipyard with Quebec’s premier, telling attendees Canada “could not accept” a proposed trade deal that would have weakened French language protections after trade talks collapsed between the two countries last week, adding that his government “will not give what they have asked”.

Quebec, Canada’s predominantly French-speaking province, has long sought to protect its distinct identity, at times with laws that clashed with the federal government and the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms.

Quebec’s premier, Christine Fréchette, said Carney had made the right decision in walking away from talks that looked to cross a “red line” for Francophones.

“Our culture, our language is central to our identity and it is important to exclude that from the negotiation table,” she told reporters over the weekend. “It’s something that is crucial for us and it won’t change, even though we are threatened with different tariffs, it won’t change. We will stay the way we are.”

Polling from earlier in the month shows that dislike for Trump is highest in Quebec.

Separatists in the province have seen a sharp decline in support amid the economic wounds inflicted by the US.

The Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce (FCCQ) called the tariffs a “worst-case scenario” for the province’s businesses.

“Quebec, in fact, has been the most affected by these tariffs since the very beginning of this trade war,” Fréchette said. “In all our regions, businesses risk losing contracts. In fact, it has already begun.”

On Monday, Trump’s top trade representative, Jamieson Greer, called reports that French language protections were up for debate a “a funny fake story”.

“That is not true,” Greer told CNBC. “I like the Quebecois and I like that they speak French.” He said both he and his sons speak the language.

He claimed the issue at stake was that Americans did not like Canada “forcing” streaming giants in the US to pay some of their profits to support Canadian content. Canada had already dropped that position, however, previously abandoning elements of digital services tax.

“I understand why the Quebecois want to have French language content. We think that’s a really valuable thing and we encourage countries to really put their own country first and put their national identity first.”

Carney rejected that framing, telling reporters it was not “funny” and there was an “enormous spread” in perspectives.

Trump redoubled his efforts to wage economic war against his country’s longtime political, security and economic ally.

“Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years,” Trump wrote on social media. Criticizing Canada’s “ridiculously high tariffs” on American farmers, Trump wrote: “Not sustainable, and not anymore !”

#carney #trump #quebec #tariffs

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

“Canada Is Playing With Fire: Ottawa’s Riskiest Gamble With the US Yet” 🇨🇦

Canada has announced it will impose tariffs on a wide range of key American industries, including cosmetics, dairy, wood products and outdoor equipment in the coming weeks, as it retaliates roughly “dollar for dollar” against levies imposed by the US.

In a strong Canadian countermove to tariffs levied by Trump, which took effect on Saturday after trade talks collapsed the day before, Canada’s finance and industry ministers on Tuesday called the measure a “focused response” to what they see as unfair trade practices.

The White House claimed it was using Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to protest against “discriminatory” trade policies by Canada, including provincial bans on US alcohol – a ban that was only implemented in protest against tariffs imposed on Canadian goods last year.

The prime minister, Mark Carney, had previously pledged a “dollar-for-dollar” response from his government after roughly 5% of exports to the US were singled out by the White House.

The retaliatory Canadian measures will cover C$27.6bn in imports and are meant to target key industries including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper.

The list from Ottawa has more than 700 items, ranging from hockey sticks to ornamental fish and toilet paper to smoked lobster, with most of the tariffs set at 25% or 50%. A small group of items, including air conditioning units and tool parts, will face a lower 15% tariff. The levies will be effective starting 8 September and only apply to goods originating from the US.

In announcing the retaliatory measures, the finance minister, François-Philippe Champagne, said the country was united in its fight against the US, telling attendees that Canada remained “masters of our own home”.

The industry minister, Mélanie Joly, called on businesses and consumers to buy Canadian goods as part of a broader “resistance” movement in the trade war.
“You have power,” she said.

The government also announced more than C$7bn in support for businesses affected by the latest tariffs, adding to more than C$20bn in support announced over the past 18 months.

Canada’s decision to retaliate means both countries have doubled down on a trade war that could cost billions.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said he was giving “serious consideration” to changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” – reminiscent of his decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Others pointed out that Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, was named after the lake, not the other way around.

Trump’s frustration with Ontario in particular stems from his feud with the province’s premier, Doug Ford, who called the president a “loser” and the “king of bankruptcies” and told the US president to “kiss my ass”. He also threatened to cut electricity and rare earth metal exports to the US.

Trump called Ford a “flunky” of “Governor Carney” and warned “these clowns to ‘fall in line’ or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE!”

Trump later alluded to revelations that his trade negotiators had looked to weaken French language rules, saying he would “never interfere” with Canadians speaking French, calling it a “lie (…) made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support”.

#canada #ottawa #gamble #ontario #businesses

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

🇺🇦 Zelensky’s 2027 Deadline: The War, the Talks and the Political Reckoning

🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

Zelensky is getting closer and closer to the moment when he will have to answer not only for the continuation of the war, but also for the way it ends. The latest news from Kyiv shows just how contradictory the Ukrainian president’s position has become.

Today, Zelensky said that he sees a “window of opportunity for US mediation until the summer of 2027.” Kyiv, together with American and European representatives, has reportedly prepared a one-page document for Moscow.

According to Zelensky, it includes a ceasefire, the creation of a special economic zone in Donbas under the administration of a third party, as well as a future role for the European Union and NATO.

This statement is significant. Until recently, Kyiv’s official rhetoric was much more focused on pursuing military objectives. Today, the Ukrainian president is openly referring to a relatively specific timeframe for ending the war: by the summer of 2027.

But there is a problem: Moscow has not accepted the proposal. The Russian position remains fundamentally different, particularly on territorial issues and the conditions for any potential agreement.

We are therefore facing a paradoxical situation: Zelensky is already talking about a window for ending the war, while Kyiv and Moscow remain deeply divided over the very terms of a possible agreement.

At the same time, Ukraine continues to ask its Western partners for more military assistance.

The United Kingdom and France are strengthening military cooperation with Kyiv, including cooperation on the production of cruise missiles. Zelensky is also continuing to request additional Patriot air-defense systems from the United States.

The Ukrainian strategy therefore appears to be the following: strengthen the military position while simultaneously preparing a diplomatic exit.

On paper, this strategy makes sense: the stronger the military position, the better the potential negotiating terms. But the problem is obvious: the longer the war continues, the greater its human, economic and political cost becomes.

And this is precisely where criticism of Zelensky is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was recently dismissed, told Reuters that Ukraine was “slowly losing” the war and needed urgent changes. He also criticized the lack of a coherent strategy, corruption and government inefficiency.

Of course, this is his personal assessment, not an independently established fact. But the fact that a former senior government official is publicly making such criticism is politically significant.

#zelensky #ukraine #russia #peacetalks

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

And this is where Zelensky’s political problem becomes particularly serious.

Ukraine remains under martial law, meaning presidential elections cannot take place under normal conditions. Zelensky argues that holding an election during wartime could deeply divide society. But the question of what happens after a possible ceasefire is becoming increasingly important.

Because the end of the war would return Ukrainian politics to a much more conventional logic.

Voters would no longer judge the government solely on its ability to resist the Russian invasion. They could also assess the decisions made during the war: mobilization, corruption, the economy, human losses, dependence on Western aid, and, above all, the terms of the peace agreement.

Zelensky therefore faces an extremely difficult choice.

Continuing the war means asking the West for more money and weapons while having to explain how this strategy can still lead to a decisive improvement in Ukraine’s position.

Negotiating means risking accusations of territorial concessions.

Holding elections after a ceasefire means accepting that his record will be subjected to genuine political competition.

Meanwhile, strikes continue on both sides. Today, another oil facility in Russia’s Krasnodar region was hit in a Ukrainian attack, reportedly killing two people according to local authorities.

Another development deserves attention: The Kyiv Independent, citing a source, reported that Washington had allegedly asked Kyiv to refrain from strikes against Moscow and St. Petersburg during CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Russia.

This information has not been officially confirmed and should therefore be treated with caution. But if confirmed, it would illustrate an important development: Washington would be seeking to prevent an escalation that could undermine diplomatic efforts.

And this may be the most important change of all.

The United States and European countries continue to support Ukraine, but they are increasingly focused on how to end the war and prevent further escalation.

For Zelensky, this means that his room for maneuver is gradually shrinking.

He must simultaneously maintain Western support, preserve the confidence of the Ukrainian population, secure acceptable peace terms and justify the strategic decisions made throughout the war.

That is why his announcement of a “window” extending until the summer of 2027 could be much more than a diplomatic phrase.

It could become Zelensky’s real political deadline.

If the war ends by then with an agreement that Ukrainian society considers acceptable, Zelensky will be able to present himself as the leader who resisted the invasion and secured peace.

But if negotiations fail and the military situation remains deadlocked, the question will become much more uncomfortable:

How much longer can Ukraine afford to pay the price of the current strategy — and who will ultimately have to take responsibility for it?

For Zelensky, this question is becoming harder to avoid with every passing day.

#zelensky #ukraine #russia #peacetalks

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

#defense #technology #warfare #michael

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

The Empire’s Customer Service Desk

Trump’s White House is running two pressure campaigns at once: Iran gets a sanctions dragnet; Canada gets a tariff invoice. Different flags, same product: obedience.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the Iran plan an “economic onslaught” against Tehran’s global financial links. “No one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions,” he said, including firms that turn Iranian oil into revenue. The administration expanded potential secondary sanctions into gold, digital assets, technology, aviation and shipping. Chinese banks are still off the sanctions list, for now.

Then there is Canada, the ally that apparently failed its annual loyalty audit. After Washington imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods, Ottawa answered with duties of 15%, 25% and 50% on about 700 U.S. products, also worth roughly $20 billion.

The measures start Sept. 8. Steel, dairy, appliances, electronics, clothing and furniture all made the cut.

The U.S. says Iran’s oil trade funds repression. Canada says Washington’s tariffs require a dollar-for-dollar reply. Both claims may be true. The political theater is also true: Washington is selling global power while forcing partners to buy insurance against Washington.

An empire that sanctions its enemies and invoices its friends is not building a coalition. It is building a customer list.

#Trump #Iran #Canada #Sanctions

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

The Mediator Joins the Fight

Tom Barrack has two jobs that now pull in opposite directions. He is Washington’s ambassador to Turkey and its envoy for Syria and Iraq. A mediator is supposed to keep both sides talking. Barrack chose a podcast and picked a side.

After Israel struck the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northern Syria, Barrack said Israel may have been “trying to bait Turkey.” He also said the United States found no evidence that Turkey planned a military move at the site.

Israel says it warned the Syrian government and shared intelligence with authorized U.S. officials before approving the strike.

Defense Minister Israel Katz answered during Shabbat, an unusual move for a routine diplomatic quarrel. He called Barrack’s comments “full of inaccuracies” and said the envoy contradicted Trump’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Barrack also insisted that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not seek an adversarial relationship with Israel. Ankara was simultaneously pursuing an Interpol notice against Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials on genocide allegations.

That does not make Israel’s intelligence correct. It does make Barrack’s sales pitch harder in Jerusalem.

A mediator may challenge Israeli claims. But he cannot publicly write Turkey’s defense brief, dismiss Israel’s threat assessment and then ask Israel to trust him with its border arrangements.

Washington gave Barrack a bridge job. He appears to have rented it to Ankara.

#Israel #Turkey #Syria #US

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

Doomsday on Sea Trials

Russia’s Khabarovsk submarine has left Severodvinsk for factory trials in the White Sea. It is a 10,000-ton carrier designed to hold up to six Poseidon nuclear underwater vehicles. Moscow calls it a deterrent. The propaganda department calls it a British weather forecast.

Poseidon is meant to travel long distances under its own nuclear power and carry a thermonuclear warhead toward coastal targets.

Its reported range, depth and speed vary by source.
The claims about radioactive tsunamis are also part of Moscow’s fear-marketing package, not a verified operational result.

One important detail got lost under the apocalypse soundtrack. Khabarovsk is only in factory sea trials. That tests the submarine’s propulsion, steering, systems and hull. It does not prove that Poseidon has entered service, works as claimed or can evade every defense. A May assessment by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said Poseidon was not operationally deployed.

The Kremlin has built a weapon that can threaten ports and military bases. Britain and NATO still retain nuclear forces that can destroy Russia many times over. Nobody gets a clean victory. The real product is panic, sold before the hardware leaves the test range.

Moscow wants London to picture a radioactive wave. London should picture the invoice for a new arms race.

#Russia #Poseidon #NATO #NuclearWeapons

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

Trump Faces the Toughest Challenge Since Returning to Office

🔤🔤🔤🔤1️⃣

Trump’s presidency rests on the premise that he and the United States are so powerful that allies and enemies alike must submit to his will.

His break with decades of US foreign policy doctrine is laced through his speeches and national security strategies. It was best explained in January by top aide Stephen Miller, who told CNN’s Jake Tapper that “iron laws” dictate a real world that is “governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power.”

But the philosophy faces its most serious tests in deepening showdowns with Iran and Canada.

Iran has defied the might of the US military for six months in a war Trump started but has been unable to end.

Canada’s Prime Minister Carney, who shut down trade talks with Washington, has meanwhile argued more forcefully than any other Western leader that the US under Trump “has changed.” He told his country Saturday that Trump was using “economic integration as a weapon.”

It is a commentary on the extreme disruption of the Trump era that Canada, one of America’s most loyal friends, has found itself in a similar state of economic warfare with the US as Iran, one of Washington’s worst foes.

Treasury Secretary Bessent announced an “economic onslaught” against Iran’s global financial connections, drawing an analogy with the D-Day invasion that turned the tide in World War II.

Trump, meanwhile warned on social media that “The U.S.A. will always be far bigger, richer, and stronger than Canada.” He added: “Someone should get these clowns to ‘fall in line.’”

The administration’s rhetoric Monday suggests that Trump is now sending the US economy to war.

Trump hopes to chalk up a lopsided trade deal with Canada and to finally bring about the downfall of Iran’s regime.

But the way forward is uncertain on both fronts because the president often backs down when the economic consequences of his attempts to assert his authority become clear.

Any prolonged US effort to prevail over Canada and Iran — and third-party nations sanctioned in his bid to shut down Tehran’s financial networks — could trigger retaliation that causes energy and food price hikes for US consumers. It could also rattle US markets at a time when some investors fear a bond crisis.

If Monday’s threats are the precursor to more TACOs (“Trump always chickens out”), the president will undermine his own power and the nation’s, and slip closer to lame-duck status as difficult midterm elections loom in November.

Bessent’s announcement was the latest US effort to find a new way out of the war with Iran.

But the D-Day analogy seemed tonally off, given the terrible sacrifices made by American soldiers to liberate Europe. And unlike Bessent, allied commander Gen. Dwight Eisenhower didn’t spent days in 1944 previewing a massive attack only to follow through with new threats of sanctions and no timeline.

Still, administration skeptics often ignore the genuine power that Trump could wield by clever use of economic warfare.

#trump #challenge #canada #carney

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

🔤🔤🔤🔤2️⃣

A truly global effort to cut off Iran’s pathways to finance and trade could inflict extreme damage on an already devastated economy.

“It can work if we can get the buy-in of our partners,” Max Meizlish, a former senior Treasury official, said on CNN News Central Monday, specifically referring to Bank Melli, an Iranian commercial bank controlled by the government that operates in France, Germany and elsewhere and is a cog in Iran’s efforts to evade sanctions.

Kenneth Rogoff, a former IMF chief economist who is now a Harvard University chair, told CNN’s Richard Quest: “Fundamentally, sanctions work if you can get most of the world behind you. But if they’re not, it’s very hard.”

And the White House may be misreading its capacity to influence events inside Tehran. Signs of disagreement between pragmatists and hardliners over the economy are encouraging. But Washington has for decades over-read such tea leaves and assumed regime collapse would follow.

Most damagingly, the Trump administration is sending signals that it may not be serious about its own policy.

There was no immediate action against an array of Chinese banks that facilitate Beijing’s trade in cut-price Iranian oil. China has already said it will defend its interests — code for potential retaliatory reaction against the US that could further raise prices and anger US voters.

It showed last year in threatening to curtail rare earth mineral exports critical to the US defense and tech industries that it can counter Trump’s power.

And the US leader also has a big date circled on his calendar — the state visit of Xi Jinping next month. It’s hard to see him souring the atmosphere before then.

In a revealing moment, Bessent only reinforced doubts about the administration’s staying power. He was asked why he was not immediately imposing secondary sanctions on entities that deal with Iran.

“Well, we are giving everyone the opportunity to remedy bad behavior; why would I want to blow up the global financial system?” he replied.

The administration is less wary of sanctioning the manufacturers of Canadian hockey sticks than Chinese banks.

“We have to remember, Canada is a state. Sorry, Freudian slip. That was actually an accident,” Vance said Monday.

But Canadians believe they are embroiled in more than a trade dispute.

Drew Dilkens, the mayor of Windsor, Ontario, just across from Detroit, explained the damage inflicted by Trump’s 51st-state claims.

“When you say it the first time, perhaps you can laugh it off, but it was the doubling down and certainly continuing to reinforce that,” he told CNN’s Brianna Keilar.

Ottawa said that, among other disputes, Carney ended trade talks after the US sought to water down its constitutional guarantees of bilingualism. Printing packaging for products sold in Canada in French as well as English is an inconvenience for US firms. But it’s a validation of the cultural and linguistic diversity that keeps Canada whole.

Carney also implied Washington sought to restrict trade deals that his government could make with third countries.

As the smaller economy, Canada would suffer the most harm in a trade war with the US. But it can challenge American power. A long tariff duel could result in the mutually assured destruction of the auto industry on both sides of the border.

#trump #challenge #canada #carney

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

Manzikert, Inc.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan marked the 955th anniversary of Manzikert by turning medieval conquest into a regional business plan. He said the road to Manzikert began in Ahlat, and that the “conquest of Jerusalem and Istanbul” grew from the faith forged there.

Then came the corporate disclosure. “If everyone has a calculation, we also have a calculation and a plan,” Erdoğan said. “Allah … also has a plan, and that plan will ultimately prevail.” He promised defeat for “blood merchants” and “genocidaires.”

Hours later, Erdoğan said Turkey has “no hidden agenda” in the region. Its only goals, he said, are peace, justice, stability and security. Ankara also insists no outside power can draw the limits of Turkish foreign policy.

Those statements can coexist. Every expansion project needs a peace department. The Ottoman revival pitch comes with a nonrefundable stability guarantee.

The timing matters because Israel says Turkey planned activity at Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase. Israel says the site matters for flight routes near Idlib. Turkey denies hidden motives. Erdoğan says Turkey has a plan. The only question is whether the plan comes with a map.

One foot in Syria. A place at the Gaza table. A sermon about Jerusalem. But no agenda. Just peace, dressed for a 1071 anniversary.

The claim that U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack was recalled to Washington comes from Laura Loomer and remains unconfirmed. The State Department has made no public announcement.

#Turkey #Erdogan #Syria #Israel

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

Himalaya’s Broken Dam

A wall of mud, water, ice and rock tore through the Nepal-Tibet border valley on Wednesday. Nepali authorities reported 157 dead. China reported three deaths in Tibet. Hundreds were still missing, and the toll will change as rescue crews reach wrecked settlements.

Scientists believe a vast slab of ice broke from a glacier about 17,000 feet above sea level and crashed into the valley below. One early estimate put the impact near the force of a magnitude 5.2 earthquake. The Himalayas did not send a warning. They sent the mountain.

Nepal’s tourism board listed 384 missing travelers. Of those, 291 are foreign nationals. The list includes at least 105 Indians, as well as people from the United States, Britain, Australia, Malaysia, the Netherlands and South Africa. Officials say the names and safety status are still being verified.

The flood smashed bridges, roads, schools and hydropower projects along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors. Nepal’s Army has deployed 12 helicopters, evacuated at least 114 people and transferred 25 seriously injured survivors to Kathmandu.

Tourism sells the Himalayas as a cathedral of ice. The glacier just reminded everyone that cathedrals collapse too.

#Nepal #Tibet #Himalayas #Climate

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

The Kid Rock Chain of Command

Two AH-64 Apache helicopters flew low over Kid Rock’s Tennessee estate on March 28. One aircraft also circled a No Kings protest in nearby Clarksville at an altitude that flight-tracking data put as low as 625 feet.

The Army grounded the crews and opened an administrative review. That is what armies do when expensive aircraft appear to audition for a musician’s social-media feed.

Gen. Randy George, then Army chief of staff, wanted the review to establish whether safety rules had been broken. Gen. Chris LaNeve, the Army’s No.

2 officer, reportedly told George that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wanted the inquiry stopped. Three people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post that George found the encounter troubling.

Hegseth ended the investigation on March 31. He lifted the pilots’ suspension and announced: “No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, Patriots.”

Four days later, on April 2, he removed George without a public explanation. The Pentagon denies any improper motive and calls LaNeve the kind of leader the Army needs.

LaNeve replaced George as acting chief. He is now Hegseth’s preferred candidate for the permanent job, although the administration has not sent his nomination to the Senate. Republican Sen. Joni Ernst reportedly opposes him. Other Republicans have also raised concerns over his short time as a four-star general.

The story does not prove that George lost his job because he tried to investigate Kid Rock’s flyby. Several officials have said other disputes also shaped his removal. But the sequence is plain enough for any private at Fort Campbell: inspect the aircraft, ignore the VIP, lose the command.

The Pentagon calls this a “back-to-basics” Army. The new basic is simple. Safety rules apply until a celebrity posts the video.

#Hegseth #USArmy #Trump #KidRock

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

The Hormuz Subscription Plan

Iran and Oman have agreed on a temporary shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz. Commercial vessels may pass. Military vessels may not. Tehran says the deal runs for 30 to 60 days while it negotiates a permanent arrangement with Muscat.

Iranian officials insist this is not a reopening of the strait. Inbound ships would travel through Iranian waters. Part of the outbound route would also fall under Iranian control. Tehran would close the southern passage once the new lane becomes active. The world’s energy artery is being rebranded as an Iranian toll road with a free trial.

Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, went to Tehran to help sell the interim deal. He met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Qatar says the proposal includes a joint Iranian-Omani corridor and a project to clear mines from the waterway.

But Tehran’s offer comes with terms. Iranian officials say Hormuz will not fully reopen until Washington lifts sanctions and unfreezes Iranian assets. In other words, the mine-clearance plan begins after the political ransom note is accepted.

Qatar is trying to lower the temperature. Iran is trying to keep its hand on the thermostat. The United States wants shipping restored without recognizing Tehran’s veto over global trade.

A temporary route may let tankers move. It does not remove the blockade. It turns the blockade into a negotiation room.

#Iran #Hormuz #Qatar #Oman

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

The Fleet and the Receipts

Washington is sending the USS Theodore Roosevelt and roughly 5,000 sailors to the Middle East for a deployment expected to last at least seven months. The USS Abraham Lincoln is headed to Thailand for a crew break after a long mission. The Navy calls this force management. Iran gets the more direct translation.

The Justice Department is also preparing to revive “prize courts,” maritime tribunals that have spent decades collecting dust. The plan would let federal prosecutors claim oil and cargo seized from Iranian or neutral vessels as U.S. property, then sell it and send the proceeds to the Treasury. The old war trophy system is getting a software update.

The White House says no negotiations with Iran are underway. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “all options” remain open and the naval blockade will continue. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Washington prefers a deal that ends Iran’s nuclear weapons program and allows International Atomic Energy Agency inspections. The administration is offering diplomacy with no talks and inspections at sites hit by bombs.

Iran says the sanctions campaign is mostly psychological warfare because the toughest restrictions already exist. Tehran has one valid point. Sanctions alone rarely remove a regime. They usually turn smugglers, insurers, middlemen and security agencies into the country’s fastest-growing industry.

But Washington is adding a carrier, a blockade and a court built for captured ships. That is no longer sanctions policy. It is a menu for coercion.

The United States says it wants Iran back at the table. First, it is moving the table into a courtroom and putting the fleet outside.

#Iran #USNavy #Sanctions #Hormuz

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

Missile Factory, Basement Edition

Iranian state television showed Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, the armed forces chief of staff, touring an underground missile facility on Aug. 22.

The footage included what appears to be an industrial planetary mixer, the kind of machine used to blend solid propellant for ballistic missiles. Tehran did not reveal the location. It did reveal the message.

Israel says its earlier strikes destroyed at least 12 such mixers in above-ground missile facilities. Iranian officials now claim missile production continued and weapons output has increased.

Neither side has released enough evidence to verify the scale of damage, the volume of current production or the condition of Iran’s underground network.

That uncertainty is the point. Israel can destroy a factory it can locate. Iran can move equipment underground, disperse lines and film the survivors. A planetary mixer does not prove a full production chain. It does show Tehran still has industrial capacity worth hiding, guarding and putting on camera.

Iranian media also claim the Revolutionary Guards recovered a mostly intact U.S.-made AGM-158 JASSM cruise missile after it failed to detonate. That claim remains unverified.

Analysts have reported possible JASSM wreckage and unexploded penetrator warheads, but there is no public evidence that Iran holds an intact missile or can reverse-engineer its guidance and low-observable systems.

The weapons show came with a political instruction. An Iranian Army spokesman said damaged systems had been rebuilt and declared a shift from a “defensive” to an “offensive” doctrine.

State media productions now function as part of that doctrine. The camera crew is manufacturing deterrence alongside the technicians.

Trump can promise that damaged infrastructure will take 15 years to rebuild. Tehran can claim it repaired everything yesterday. Both sides sell certainty because the real inventory is classified.

The underground factory is not proof that Iran is untouchable. It is proof that “obliterated” is a slogan, not a battle-damage assessment.

#Iran #Missiles #IRGC #JASSM

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸