Iran To Draw New "Restricted Zone" In Hormuz As Saudi Aramco Facility Hit Again, Oil Climbs

At a moment US officials have been boasting of more and more oil tankers making it through the Strait of Hormuz under US naval protection and support, Iran has previewed a new 'restricted zone' in the Gulf, which it says will be announced in the coming days.

The announcement is expected to include maps of the new shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, likely to begin from where the US blockade of Iran starts and extending into areas of the Gulf, according to Iran's Supreme National Security Council on Sunday.

"The maps of a new international corridor which lies in Iranian and Omani waters and in which Iran will have management have been agreed and should be signed in the coming days," national security council official Mohsen Rezaei said.

"We will only commit to the Strait of Hormuz being open when they (the Americans) stop the sabotage, threats and attacks on Iran," he added. Per a Monday Bloomberg note:

Oil advances, with Brent futures trading above $97 a barrel, after US attacks on Iranian tankers and Tehran’s threat of a new restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz. European natural gas prices surge. Meanwhile, Ukraine is resigned to Russia’s war dragging on through another tough winter.

Also, in a latest Monday warning, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has put US energy firms on notice, saying they could be targeted if Iranian tankers continue to be attacked (following precisely a rare US airstrike on an Iranian civilian tanker).

According to Ghalibaf's words on X: "It's simple: the oil and gas production chain here is sprawling, accessible, and exposed. American oil and gas companies across these waters and facilities share that exposure. Strike our assets and you get struck. We’ve already proven it. Ask the bases that are no longer viable."

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-draw-new-restricted-zone-hormuz-saudi-aramco-facility-hit-again-oil-climbs

🇩🇪🚨‼️ MAIL-IN VOTING ANOMALY

EVERY PARTY EXCEPT THE AfD HAS MORE MAIL-IN VOTES THAN IN-PERSON VOTES!

The AfD voters don’t like mail? Come on.

How can every other party have received more mail-in votes than in-person votes, and by such a large margin?

If we removed mail-in voting, the AfD would have won a full majority with a huge lead. But they did not.

This certainly looks weird.

Interesting fact: without mail-in ballots, the AfD would have won 51% of the vote and secured an absolute majority.

Mail-in ballots made up 25.7% of all votes cast.

This system is easily manipulated and mail-in voting should be banned everywhere.

https://x.com/MyLordBebo/status/2096871469707878405

Worthless fiat used to steal all the real assets

Central Banks Bought 23 Tonnes Of Gold In July

The largest buyer last month was China, which bought 20 tonnes, according to a Sept. 3 WGC report.

"Notably, activity from the People's Bank of China (PBoC) has picked up pace in recent months, with double-digit monthly purchases of gold since May 2026," the report said. Poland purchased eight tonnes and was the second-largest buyer.

Russia was the top net seller, with six tonnes sold. This was followed by Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Jordan, all of which sold a tonne each.

Year-to-date, global central banks reported purchasing 130 tonnes of gold, down from roughly 160 tonnes during the same period in 2025. Poland has added 90 tonnes this year, with China buying 60 tonnes. Turkey has sold 85 tonnes, while Russia's sales total 50 tonnes.

Central banks account for roughly 20 percent of all historically mined gold, according to the WGC. Bullion serves as a vital bank reserve asset, valued for its liquidity, safety, and potential returns. In times of uncertainty, gold demand tends to rise.

According to a June 16 WGC report, a survey of central banks found that 89 percent of respondents forecast global central bank gold reserves to rise over the year.

As for funding, half of the respondents said they would procure the gold locally by using domestic currencies. Thirty-eight percent said they would sell other reserve assets to purchase gold.

"The majority of respondents (74 percent) see moderate or significantly lower US dollar holdings within global reserves over the next five years," the report said.

"Respondents also believe that the share of other currencies, such as the euro and renminbi, will remain unchanged over the same period, while gold holdings will increase."

Goldman Sachs predicts central bank buying will support the rise in gold prices, according to an Aug. 28 report. Such purchases are being driven by a need to diversify their reserves.

https://www.zerohedge.com/precious-metals/central-banks-bought-23-tonnes-gold-july

REPORT: Senator’s Senior Staffer Works Second Job As Lobbyist, Raising Ethics Questions

A senior adviser to Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, Robert Skjonsberg, has simultaneously worked as a state lobbyist for several high-profile clients, according to a report.

The veteran staffer has been registered to lobby the South Dakota Legislature for more than a dozen clients over the past decade. His clients have included Meta, tobacco giant Altria, conservative think tank the Freedom Foundation, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the South Dakota Dairy Producers, South Dakota Pork Producers and other trade groups, according to state records reviewed by Politico.

Skjonsberg is also listed as a “co-owner” of 605 Strategies, according to its website, which says he helped guide Rounds to victory in the 2002 gubernatorial race, his 2006 reelection campaign and his successful Senate campaigns in 2014 and 2020.

In 2014, The Nation reported that records allegedly showed Rounds’ gubernatorial administration had extended taxpayer assistance to companies in which he and Skjonsberg were investors.

Since Skjonsberg registered to represent Meta last year, Rounds has introduced several bills related to artificial intelligence, a technology in which the social media giant has been investing heavily.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rounds has worked on legislation affecting industries represented by Skjonsberg. This year, the senator introduced bills that would expand grazing land for cattle producers and restrict foreign adversaries from purchasing U.S. agricultural land and businesses, Politico reported.

Senate ethics rules prohibit certain staffers from “affiliat[ing] with a firm, partnership, association, corporation, or other entity for the purpose of providing professional services for compensation.” The rules also restrict Senate employees from allowing outside firms to use their names in connection with compensated professional services, according to Politico.

However, a spokesperson for Rounds told Politico that the office’s general counsel “consulted with the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics, which provided guidance to make certain there was and is no conflict of interest,” adding that “Senate Ethics guidance continues to be followed today.”

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers and Meta both told Politico they had not worked with Skjonsberg since March, when the state legislature concluded its 2026 session.

https://dailycaller.com/2026/09/07/south-dakota-mike-rounds-staffer-robert-skjonsberg-lobbying-meta-agriculture-ethics/

>>25015764

It's a twitter feed

Run by mossad

Trump lifts sanctions on top Al Qaeda recruiters, financiers days before 9/11 anniversary

As the US prepares to mark 25 years since Sept. 11, 2001, Donald Trump has removed top Al Qaeda figures from the US list of designated terrorists. Among those he delisted was Abdullah Muhaysini, a Saudi cleric who recruited child fighters and teen suicide bombers to wreak havoc across Syria.

The administration of President Donald Trump has removed the names of some of the world’s most notorious commanders, recruiters and financiers for the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda from its list of specially designated terrorists. Among those relieved of US sanctions this August was Abdullah Muhaysini, a Salafi-jihadi cleric from Saudi Arabia who participated in videotaped massacres of captive soldiers and recruited droves of foreign youth to carry out suicide bombings throughout Syria over the past decade.

The delisting of the jihadist recruiters came as part of the Trump administration’s removal of the government of Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa as a State Sponsor of Terrorists. “These actions represent another historic step by President Trump to give the Syrian people a path to prosperity,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared on August 24, 2026.

Formerly known as Abu Mohammad Al-Jolani, Al-Sharaa is the co-founder of ISIS and founder of Jabhat Al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda. Under the guidance of Western advisors, Al-Sharaa rebranded Al-Nusra as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, before he toppled the government of President Bashar Al-Assad in December 2024.

By the time he seized power, Al-Sharaa had been groomed by his NATO handlers as a reliable local enforcer. When Trump hosted Al-Sharaa in the Oval Office in November 2025, playfully misting him with Trump Cologne and asking how many wives he had, it was clear the US was ready to lift the sanctions that had devastated Syria’s economy. Two months later, Trump pitched a half-baked plan for the Syrian military to attack Iran. Washington had finally found its man in Damascus.

Here's President Trump spraying Al-Sharaa with his cologne, asking him how many wives he has..at the Oval Office. pic.twitter.com/ojFHEIZmmT

— Olga Nesterova (@onestpress) November 12, 2025

This August, the Trump administration went a step further, lifting sanctions on Al Qaeda propagandists, funders and fighters responsible for gruesome atrocities during the dirty war on Syria. These figures include Abu Sulayman al-Muhajir, a top Al Qaeda recruiter in Australia who fled to Syria; Shafi Sultan Mohammed al-Ajmi, a major Kuwaiti financier of Al-Nusra; and Abdul Samrez Jashari, an Albanian foreign fighter who has taken on a senior role in Syria’s military under Al-Sharaa.

Perhaps none of the Al Qaeda bandits who received sanctions relief from the Trump administration oversaw as many acts of sadistic violence as the Saudi-born, Turkish-backed cleric Abdullah Muhaysini.

https://thegrayzone.com/2026/09/04/trump-sanctions-al-qaeda-recruiters-9-11/