Iran

Welcome to the Precious Metals Bug Forums

Welcome to the PMBug forums - a watering hole for folks interested in gold, silver, precious metals, sound money, investing, market and economic news, central bank monetary policies, politics and more.

Why not register an account and join the discussions? When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no Google ads, market data/charts, access to trade/barter with the community and much more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!



NEW:

🇮🇷🇺🇸 CBS news confirms that American military bases in the Middle East suffered ‘more extensive damage’ from Iranian attacks than publicly known

The bases are said to be mostly destroyed, and their repair would likely cost in the billions of dollars.

Notably, U.S. bases even came under attack by Iranian F-5 fighter jets — despite Trump’s claims that the Iranian Air Force had been ‘completely obliterated’.

This marks the third confirmed usage of the Iranian Air Force against U.S. bases during the war. Previously, an attack by two Iranian Su-24s led to 6 American fatalities in Kuwait, before they were eventually shot down when aporoaching the coast of Doha, Qatar.
 
In case you missed it...



I want to speak DIRECTLY to the people of Europe. In the past two weeks I held TWO MAJOR press conferences

— one in Stockholm, one in Berlin. Over 150 JOURNALISTS showed up. We spent MORE THAN TWO HOURS with them…And guess what? NOT ONE SINGLE of those 150 journalists asked about the 40,000 IRANIANS SLAUGHTERED on the streets of my country on January 8th and 9th! NOT ONE asked about the 19 political prisoners EXECUTED in the last two weeks.

When I told them 20 more are currently sentenced to death — CRICKETS. Not a damn question.

I stood right next to a grieving mother and father who lost their sons in that massacre and begged them to listen to their stories… NOT A SINGLE ONE of those 150 journalists asked them a thing.

Let that sink in.

My 40,000 BRAVE INNOCENT COMPATRIOTS who were butchered fighting for liberty? They don’t give a damn.

They are too busy criticizing America and Israel for taking out the dictator who’s been slaughtering our people for 47 YEARS — instead of going after the regime that’s actually doing the killing!

They’d rather dig up Iran’s history than talk about what’s happening RIGHT NOW or the free democratic Iran we’re fighting for. One EU parliament member even had the nerve to say Iranians aren’t ready for democracy. To that coward and to every fake journalist in the room I say this: Iranians aren’t just “ready” for democracy… 40,000 of them just DIED for it!

And I will NOT let their blood be in vain. SO HEAR ME LOUD AND CLEAR:

Whether Europe stands with us or not…Whether your journalists do their damn jobs or not…Whether your politicians grow a spine or not… I WILL FIGHT FOR MY PEOPLE AND MY COUNTRY. Even if we have to do this ALONE — we are fighting until IRAN IS FREE!
 


🇮🇷🇵🇰🇺🇸 Summary of Iran’s FM visit to Islamabad:

1. Emphasis on the 10 conditions & full commitment to them.
-U.S. guarantee of non-aggression
—No more attacks on Iran or its territory.
-Iran retains full control over the Strait of Hormuz (including ability to regulate/charge for passage).
-Acceptance of Iran’s right to uranium enrichment (civilian nuclear program).
-Lifting of all primary US sanctions on Iran.
-Lifting of all secondary sanctions (on third countries doing business with Iran).
-Termination of all UN Security Council resolutions against Iran.
-Termination of all IAEA Board of Governors resolutions against Iran.
-Compensation / reparations for war damages caused by US/Israeli strikes.
-Release of all frozen Iranian assets held abroad.
-U.S. military withdrawal from the region + end to attacks on Iran’s allies (Axis of Resistance, including Hezbollah).

2. Readiness for rational & fair negotiation.
3. US has no right to set red lines for talks.
4. Iran will not surrender to US excesses (including no naval blockade).
5. The need for Pakistan's neutrality.

Iran is essentially testing whether third-party diplomacy can do what direct talks can't.

Pakistan is now holding the message, the question is whether Washington picks up.

Source: Mehr News Agency
 


🇺🇸🇮🇷 The U.S. is letting Iranian oil tankers travel for days, sometimes thousands of miles, then seizing them right before delivery.

The 4 Iranian-linked tankers seized in the past 2 weeks: the Sabine, Donara, Tiffany, and Daraya.

Iran runs a "shadow fleet" to dodge sanctions and funnel oil to Chinese buyers. That trade brings in $40-50 billion a year, roughly 90% of its export revenue.

The U.S. has figured out the routes, the buyers, and the timing.

Crews spend 8 days at sea thinking they've made it, only to sail straight into a trap that was set before they even left port.

Source: BusinessBasicsYT
 
Like I said Obama did and Trump will...just like we are shipping buckets of cash to Iraq and Afghanistan ...
The U.S. is the largest donor to Afghanistan, providing over $2.6 billion in humanitarian and development aid since the Taliban took control in August 2021, according to SIGAR reports. Funds are directed through the UN and NGOs to bypass direct Taliban financing, though cash shipments to the UN have raised concerns about aiding the Taliban.
House.gov
House.gov +2
 
This was an interesting POV

She's not smart enough to 'know' all this. Someone gleaned this for her to report.

WHY THE IRAN WAR ISN’T WHAT YOU THINK​

The headlines are shouting about "ancient grudges" and nuclear encroachment, but what if the chaos in the Middle East is actually a calculated architectural reset of the global economy? While the world watches the cease-fire lines, a much bigger picture is unfolding—one that replaces vulnerable maritime chokepoints with a private-equity-managed system controlled by a Board of Peace.

In this episode, we pull back the curtain on a strategy that didn't just underestimate the conflict—it counted on it. We explore how the "burning ocean" became the ultimate sales pitch for a new world order. In this deep dive, we reveal:

The Hormuz Shutdown: How the U.S. Navy effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, stripping Iran of its oil income and forcing a global energy emergency that made alternatives mandatory.

The Saudi-Israel Connection: How the IMEC creates a seamless link from India through the Saudi desert to the Port of Haifa in Israel, bypassing the Iranian "veto".

Netanyahu and the New Axis: The strategic collaboration between Netanyahu’s government and Saudi Arabia to finalize the "Abraham Gateway," turning GAZA into the primary Mediterranean terminal for the world's energy.

The Mastermind Team: The strategic roles of Rubio, Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner in navigating the shift from maritime dependency to a land bridge where the risk is borne by the American taxpayer.

The Insurance Trap: Why private markets fled a $352 billion risk, leaving the DFC as the only insurer of last resort—effectively making the IMEC the only "safe" route left on the planet.

Chairman for Life: The internal mechanics of the Board of Peace, a "private club" with no UN oversight and a $17 billion private military force.

The Gaza Terminus: Why the reconstruction of Gaza is actually the key to controlling the gateway of European trade.

Is this the strategic genius the world needs to bypass "ideological lunatics," or the most dangerous concentration of power in modern history?

CHAPTERS
00:00 INTRO
01:44 The War IS The Plan
02:25 Closing the Strait: How the U.S. Navy neutralized Iran’s biggest economic weapon.
04:37 One Big Beautiful Bill: How Trump decoupled U.S. gas prices from the global oil surge.
05:53 The Death of Chokepoints: Why maritime shipping routes are being replaced by land-based power.
08:01 IMEC Unveiled: The secret railroad and pipeline corridor connecting India to Europe.
11:58 The October 7th Connection: Why Hamas moved to torch the bridge between Riyadh and Jerusalem.
14:47 The Kushner Blueprint: Why Saudi Arabia paid $2 billion for a seat at the table.
21:58 Gaza Unlocked It All How Trump gained control of the IMEC’s Western terminus.
24:06 The "New Gaza" Plan: Turning a conflict zone into a Dubai-style "Trump Riviera".
27:36 Trump’s Private Army - the ISF.
29:18 Insurance as a Weapon: How U.S. taxpayers are de-risking the world's trade.
30:30 Board of Peace to Replace The UN?.
35:05 The final verdict on the most consequential power grab in history.

 
T has stated he has all the cards and he's waiting for Iran to contact him so take this fwiw.

 
T has stated he has all the cards and he's waiting for Iran to contact him so take this fwiw.
Truth takes longer.

Add this to Jillian's "WHY THE IRAN WAR ISN’T WHAT YOU THINK"


From what I can piece together, what we're witnessing is a global restructuring.

The BRICS+ nations are moving away from the almighty dollar as the reserve currency and for good reason. The US (or those who have manipulated it like a financial weapon) is fighting to keep dollar supremacy intact.

That's why Nordstream was blown up. It's why Venezuelan oil was liberated. It's also why Iran is being shackled.

If you look at the world as a chessboard, the (energy) pieces are being manipulated for the next century.

Energy IS the future. Not solar, but real power from the energy stored in a barrel of abiotic oil. Control energy and you control the future.

The EU is learing "Net Zero" portends the end of civilization as they know it. There is NO climate change to worry about, just as surviving the Hole in the Ozone wasn't anything - what ever happened to that fear mongering manipulation anyway?? The oceans haven't risen and the climate isn't changing appreciably, at least no more than it always has.

Take a walk down memory lane:

climate change.jpg


Climate Change Eons.jpeg
 


🚨 HOLY CRAP! Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent just issued a jaw-dropping WARNING for the Iranian mullahs

“GASOLINE SHORTAGES IN IRAN NEXT!”

“While the surviving IRGC Leaders are trapped like drowning rats in a sewage pipe, Iran’s creaking oil industry is starting to shut in production thanks to the U.S. BLOCKADE.”

“Pumping will soon collapse.”

LFG, 47 gains leverage every single day 🔥🔥
 
I hope Iran is not stalling the negotiations for enough time to develop a nuclear weapon. Who knows what they have hidden under the rug?
 
What's really going on behind the scenes, or Why King Charlie came for a visit...

Most folks wouldn't understand the Matrix they're living in.

This is Luongo's Patreon pitch, but one can glean most of this just watching his interviews on YT.

“…We're not in Kansas, anymore.”

— Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

The global trade and financial system wasn't built by the US. It was built by London and the old families of Europe.

They spent the last cycle of history since WWII getting the US to enforce its primacy while we spent our blood and they gained the treasure.

Donald Trump, for better or worse, is done with that arrangement. His campaign in Iran isn't focused on them... it's focused on rewiring the global trade system even if he has to tear it down to the studs to do so.

... And boy do the old powers that gather in Davos hate the thought of that.

On our world, those "worse people" are our media pundits, judges, and Prime Ministers.

First Venezuela, then a stern message to the cartels, now Iran...

... Trump is not playing by their rules

Things will escalate from here if the IRGC continues to play the wrong game.

You can't bluff someone who doesn't bluff, or who controls the largest, most powerful military and financial system in the world.


This month's Gold Goats 'n Guns Investment Newsletter takes a hard look at the how global trade is being rewired in real time and where we go from here.

Available now to download through Patreon,this issue of Gold Goats ‘n Guns ...

Discusses:​

  • How Trump is rewiring the global trading house
  • What Trump and new Apple CEO John Ternus have in common
  • Why this oil crisis can't have the same impacts as past ones.
  • Why geopolitics is not chess, which is why Iran lost before it sat down to play
Your Subscription to Gold Goats 'n Guns not only gives you the newsletter but also:
  1. The Gold Goats 'n Guns private chat on Slack to interact with the Community, boasting 100+ active members daily.
  2. Twice-weekly Video Market Reports, exclusive insights on politics, markets with actionable trading information.
  3. My Morning Munchings - Private blog posts giving you first crack at what I'm thinking is the important story of the day.

Sign up with Patreon to try it out. You will receive instructions from there to get all of the back issues of Gold Goats 'n Guns.

See if I have what it takes to help you make sense of a world going quickly mad.​

For those of you already signed up I ask that you share this e-mail with friends and family. https://us15.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=6e81e4ae23a6d43212abf113f&id=f1a7b7b0fa&e=0a97d93d86

Be well and remember to always keep your stick on the ice,
Tom Luongo
Publisher of Gold Goats 'n Guns
 
It's our way or the highway....



🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran's proposal got rejected. Now they're writing a new one.

Here is what's actually happening.

Iran sent a proposal over the weekend through Pakistani mediators. The offer: end the war first, nuclear program talks come later. Trump said no.

So Araghchi flew to Russia, consulted Moscow, then headed back to Tehran. He's now sitting with regime leadership trying to figure out what to offer next.

The problem is getting everyone on the same page is slow. Supreme Leader Khamenei's location is being kept secret, which makes communication harder than it sounds.

Meanwhile Trump posted on social media today saying Iran told the U.S. it is "in a State of Collapse" and wants Hormuz open as "they try to figure out their leadership."

Pakistan's mediators expect a revised proposal within days. But everything depends on one thing: whether Iran comes back with something Washington can actually say yes to.

The ball is in Tehran's court. The court is on fire.

Source: CNN
 


🚨 🇺🇸 Treasury just sanctioned 35 individuals and entities tied to Iran's "shadow banking" network, plus issued a major warning to Chinese refineries...

-Sanctions target "rahbars," private firms that manage thousands of overseas shell companies for Iran

-Networks have moved tens of billions of dollars in sanctions evasion and terrorism financing

-Direct ties to the IRGC and Iran's Armed Forces General Staff

-Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: "Illicit funds funneled through this network support the regime's ongoing terrorist operations"

-Separately, Treasury warned about Chinese "teapot" oil refineries, the major buyers of sanctioned Iranian crude

-Financial institutions urged to confirm they aren't doing business with OFAC-designated refineries

This is the financial blockade running parallel to the naval one, and it's tightening in the exact places that matter.

While the Navy chokes off Iran's tankers at sea, Treasury is going after the wallets that move the money around them, and the warning to China's small refineries is the real shot across the bow.

Beijing now knows that buying Iranian crude through their teapot operations could trigger secondary sanctions, which means the squeeze is no longer just on the water but on the global financial plumbing that's been keeping Iran afloat.

Source: WSJ
 
Back
Top Bottom