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USS Gerald R Ford Sailors Suspected of Setting Fire to Avoid Continuing Deployment

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USS Gerald R. Ford
USS Gerald R. Ford diverted to Crete after laundry‑space fire — 30‑hour blaze sparks investigation into deliberate crew sabotage. Seaman Mark Rundio/WikiMedia Commons

 

Bernadette Tixon

The US Navy is investigating whether sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford deliberately started the fire that tore through the aircraft carrier’s main laundry spaces on 12 March — a blaze that took more than 30 hours to extinguish and left over 600 crew members without proper sleeping quarters. The carrier, the most expensive warship ever built, is now diverting to Souda Naval Base in Crete for repairs and a formal investigation into the incident, according to sources with direct knowledge of the planned port call.

The investigation explicitly includes the possibility of deliberate sabotage by crew members, with one theory suggesting the fire was intentionally set to interrupt the carrier’s lengthy and repeatedly extended mission. The Ford has now entered its tenth month of deployment, with crew members told their assignment will likely stretch into May — twice the length of a normal aircraft carrier deployment.

Extended. Then Extended Again.

The USS Gerald R. Ford departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, on 24 June 2025 for what was initially a routine deployment to the US European Command area. What followed was a sequence of mission redirections that progressively pushed the crew further from home. It was subsequently redirected to the US Southern Command area for counter-narcotics operations before being extended again and sent to the Middle East ahead of the start of hostilities with Iran.

‘That extension will ultimately be about an 11-month deployment, so there will be an impact on her return and the schedule for her maintenance availability so she’s ready to go again,’ Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jim Kilby told lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Should the Ford remain deployed until mid-April, it will break the post-Vietnam War record of 294 days set by USS Abraham Lincoln in 2020. An extension into May would see it rival deployment lengths not recorded since the Vietnam War era itself.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said in a statement: ‘Our sailors understand the importance of their service. They are away from home longer than planned because the nation needs them forward and ready.’ Those words have done little to ease the strain felt aboard a vessel that has been at sea, under fire, and under pressure for the better part of a year.

A Ship Under Strain

In October, the carrier and its 4,500 sailors and pilots were stationed in the Mediterranean when Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered it to shift course to the Caribbean, bolstering President Trump’s pressure campaign against Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. From there, the ship was quickly redirected to the Middle East, where it joined the US-Israeli war against Iran, now entering its third week.

The fire broke out in the ship’s main laundry area and spread rapidly through the ventilation system. It took more than 30 hours to extinguish, damaging sleeping quarters so severely that crew members have been forced to sleep on floors and tables. US Central Command confirmed in a statement that ‘the cause of the fire was not combat-related and is contained. There is no damage to the ship’s propulsion plant, and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational.’

The Ford had also been plagued by plumbing issues, with its vacuum collection system malfunctioning and maintenance calls related to sewage issues logged at a rate of nearly one per day.

The Sabotage Theory

Iran’s state broadcaster, citing a source in the central headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces, reported that the fire may have been deliberately started by American servicemen who did not want to continue participating in military operations against Iran. While Iranian state media claims should be treated with caution, Western reporting has since confirmed that the possibility of deliberate sabotage is being formally investigated by the US Navy, independent of any Iranian framing of events.

The broader context lends weight to why the theory is being taken seriously. ‘Fatigue accumulates and time away from home weighs on sailors,’ Rear Adm Paul Lanzilotta said in a statement. ‘Our responsibility as leaders is to ensure they are supported — with reliable shipboard services, clear communication, and consistent engagement.’ Whether that support proved sufficient for all 4,500 crew members now appears to be a question for investigators.

If confirmed, the sabotage claim would represent one of the most serious internal discipline events in the modern US Navy — raising fundamental questions about the institutional limits of extended combat deployments and the human cost of mission creep on crews who were never told how long they would be gone. The Ford’s diversion to Crete and the formal opening of a sabotage investigation signals that those questions can no longer be deferred.

[…]

Via https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-navy-investigates-sabotage-uss-gerald-r-ford-fire-1786273

How Iran and China Shaped the War Chessboard

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Photo Credit: The Cradle

Pepe Escobar

China is officially responding on two parallel tracks to the Epstein Syndicate – or US-Israeli – war on Iran via a diplomatic spokesman and a military spokesman.

Translation: China sees the war both as an extreme political/diplomatic tension and a military threat.

China’s military spokesman, a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) colonel, speaks with metaphors. It was he who said explicitly that the US is “addicted to war”, with only 250 years of History and only 16 years of peace.

He clearly positions the US as a global threat. And clearly, also as a moral (italics mine) threat.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is firmly focused on establishing a long-lasting connection between Marxism and Confucianism.

The key contribution of Confucius to political thinking is the precise use of language. Only the one who speaks with precise metaphors and moral weight is able to govern a nation.

So China is carefully developing a steady moral and ethical criticism of the American war of choice on Iran. Stressing how this is the attack of a nation that has lost its moral compass.

The Global South totally understands the message.

Additionally, facts on the battlefield show how China has also changed the rules of war in Iran.

The Iranian grid is now fully connected to the BeiDou satellite system. That explains how Iran now strikes with precision, and every move by the US-Israeli combo faces a China-tech Digital Wall (over 40 BeiDou satellites in orbit). That accounts for excellent Iranian missile accuracy and increased resistance to jamming.

As part of their 25-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, China has also supplied Iran with long-range radars, integrated with satellite systems. The key takeaway is Iran’s now much shorter response time compared to the 12-day war.  

Russia has helped on a parallel track, allowing Iran to apply in spades what Russia learned in Ukraine about western systems such as Patriot and IRIS-T. It’s not only about mass-drone saturation tactics; it’s learning the Russian way of coordinating drone swarms with ballistic missile volleys. That’s exactly what’s in – devastating – effect in the latest stages of Operation True Promise IV.

Playing Go: It’s all about the petroyuan 

Now let’s focus on the crucial Strait of Hormuz gambit. The key move is Iran only allowing transit for oil tankers whose cargo has been settled in petroyuan. No dollars. No euros. Only yuan. 

In fact, China had already started to end the Bretton Woods/petrodollar system in December 2022, when Beijing invited the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) petro-monarchies to trade oil and gas on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Now, couple all of the above with the Chinese 15th Five-Year-Plan, just discussed and approved in Beijing.

Talk about an in-depth systemic vision.

In a quite holistic way, Beijing planners set GDP growth at four percent; the digital economy advancing to 12.5 percent of GDP; green energy solutions at 25 percent; surface water quality at 85 percent; an avalanche of high-value patents; all that and more, equally tabled, with hard targets to be achieved and binding indicators all the way to 2030.

This means the Chinese are treating economy, energy security, ecology, education, and health care as if they are organs of the same fit body. That is how urbanization fuels productivity: a lot of investment in R&D fuels more and more patents; patents fuel the digital economy; and green energy solutions fuel strategic independence.

The latest Five-Year Plan conclusively shows how China is meticulously planning to be the leader of the coming tech future. And this goes way beyond 2030, all the way to mid-century.

It’s no wonder that smashing the petrodollar plays a key role in this process of changing the current system of international relations. Iran is now offering it on a plate to China, by replacing the petrodollar with the petroyuan in the most critical chokepoint on the planet, through which transits 20 percent of all global oil.

Iran’s play is not military; it’s financially (italics mine) nuclear. What makes it all easier is that Iran is already offering the model for the rest of the Global South to follow: nearly 90 percent of Tehran’s crude exports are settled in yuan via the CIPS payment system.

The Global South may eventually lock in the very simple model. Tehran is not saying the Strait of Hormuz is blocked. It’s blocked only to the hostile Epstein Syndicate – the US – and its minions trading in petrodollars. Shipping lanes are being turned in real time into political filters. As the Global South migrates to the petroyuan, the hegemonic petrodollar – since 1974 – drops dead.

By now, every trader on the planet knows how the petrodollar works. After the 1973 oil shock, the GCC and OPEC agreed in 1974 that oil could only be traded in US dollars.

Oil exporters must necessarily recycle their dollar profits back into US Treasury bonds and stocks. That reinforces the role of the US dollar as reserve currency; finances US tech investments; finances the industrial-military complex, and their Forever Wars; and most of all, de facto finances the – unpayable – US debt. 

China, Russia, and Iran, as BRICS members, happen to be on the frontline of advancing alternative payment systems; crucially, that includes bypassing the petrodollar. 

So this is way more than control of oil – the alleged rationale behind the shambolic, unplanned “excursion” (Trump terminology) into Iran.

For all practical purposes, the facts on the ground are already spelling Major Fail. It’s the counterpunch that is on a whole new level.

The IRGC goes Sun Tzu 

Weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is Sun Tzu, revised by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Both a connectivity corridor – the Strait of Hormuz – and a currency – the yuan – are now weapons of imperial destruction. Who needs a nuclear bomb?

What’s at stake is the control of the global financial system – way beyond 2030, all the way to mid-century and beyond. What we are watching in real time is the Persians playing chess – in which they excel – but with elements of Chinese weiqi (“Go” in English).

Go is organic. When the little stones used in the game connect, they mold shape and long-term control across the entire board. In our case, the geopolitical/geoeconomic chessboard. It’s all about positioning, patience, accumulating advantages, and managing strategy.

That’s the “secret” of why the war on Iran now offers China the decisive move. Beijing has been shaping the chessboard for years with infinite patience: creating a set of multi-lateral institutions; playing a key role in BRICS and SCO; building the New Silk Roads (BRI); investing in alternative settlement systems; turbo-charging its diplomacy.

[…]

Via https://thecradle.co/articles/how-iran-and-china-shaped-the-war-chessboard

How War in Iran Affects Grocery Prices for Everyday Americans

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Is There a Walmart Plus Free Trial? | GOBankingRates

by | Mar 16, 2026

Walmart has essentially eradicated all of the mom & pop grocery stores where I live in western Kentucky. Which, for better or worse, forces virtually the entire city’s population to descend on the store for grocery shopping. As you walk into the store, you will inevitably be bombarded with messages from the intercom to get a flu shot or some other seasonal vaccine. This will be followed by a reminder that soda and potato chips are on sale.

Shopping in the local Walmart presents a fair picture of middle America. The county’s poverty rate is above 17%, homes are unaffordable, drug addiction is rampant, and wages remain stagnant. Among all of these issues, the rising cost of grocery prices make it challenging for many people in the community to afford real, whole foods. The unfortunate alternative is to purchase cheap junk food, go to a local food pantry, or simply go without. The simple reality is that many Americans can no longer keep up with rising costs in the grocery store.

But what does this have to do with war in Iran?

We often hear that Congress has passed a new defense budget, ever again surpassing its previous allocations. The most recent appropriations allocated $838 billion to military services in FY26 and now both President Trump and his domestic allies are calling for an increase to $1.5 trillion. For everyday Americans, that number is frankly unfathomable. But have you ever questioned, how does America pay for war?

Income tax has not always been permanent in America. But to give you the short version of the story, it was created to fund war and then later adopted as a permanent fixture. During times of war, Congress has periodically increased taxes to fund operations. However, politicians can only raise taxes so much before citizens begin caring about where their dollars are going. As a result, we no longer increase taxes for the sole purpose of funding wars.

Instead, we use debt. Because the public would be unwilling to fund wars through taxes, the American government defers to borrowing money. But where does that money come from? There is never enough capital in circulation to fulfill the American bloodlust, so it must be printed.

The American government’s incessant use of debt as a means to pay for wars of choice directly devalues the dollar’s purchasing power by forcing banks to digitally print money. Every dollar borrowed inflates our currency which, in turn, increases prices for everyday goods while working class compensation remains stagnant. It has held true for decades that wages do not and will not keep up with inflation.

As the Trump administration, Congress, and the federal bureaucracy continue this war against Iran (currently costing over $1,000,000,000 per day), your dollar loses its value with every bomb dropped and missile launched. Couple that with the increased cost of oil (a result of the conflict occurring in the Middle East), and we are certain to see already insufferable grocery prices increase over the coming years. If you thought there was a cost of living crisis now, just wait.

Leadership on both sides of the aisle and across branches have failed to provide any cohesive explanation as to how this war benefits the American people. They have failed to represent their constituents who, for the most part, are unconcerned with rhetoric from faraway dictators, and instead are focused on feeding their families. And based on where I sit in western Kentucky, I can say with certainty that this war will only further distress everyday Americans simply trying to survive.

So, is this baseless war so necessary that you are willing to accept groceries, gas, housing, and all of the necessities for life more expensive for both yourself and your children?

[…]

Via https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2026/03/16/how-war-in-iran-affects-grocery-prices-for-everyday-americans/

Trump’s Role in Laundering Dirty Money: Trump vs Maduro

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By Prof Michel Chossudovsky

It is estimated that 300 billion dollars (annually) worth of drug money (2003 data) is routinely laundered.“The trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs–from cocaine to pharmaceuticals–generate enormous profits, and detecting and seizing the money and assets derived from drug trafficking are critical to U.S. counterdrug efforts.

The actual dollar amount of money laundered in the United States from the proceeds of drug trafficking is unknown, although interagency estimates suggest that between $100 billion and $300 billion in U.S. currency is laundered annually.” (Justice.gov. 2003 data).

How to Undermine the Drug Cartels without having to Invade a Sovereign Country?

The answer is obvious. Implement forceful measures which paralyze the laundering of dirty money, within the realm of global finance. No easy task. Will it be addressed by the Trump Adminstration?

In a rather cryptic tone, Mother Jones begs the question: “Make Money Laundering Great Again” (MMLGA)

According to Mother Jones

“President Donald Trump’s return to power has cast doubt on the future of the most monumental anti-kleptocracy reform push in decades… Increasingly, the United States has become the epicenter of the multitrillion-dollar offshore economy.”

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury  with a mission to “safeguard the financial system from illicit activity, counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism”.

On March 6, 2015, four months before Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination, a controversial FinCEN report regarding money laundering violations at Trump’s Taj  Mahal’s Casino was released:

“The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today imposed a $10 million civil money penalty against Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort (Trump Taj Mahal), for willful and repeated violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). In addition to the civil money penalty, the casino is required to conduct periodic external audits to examine its anti-money laundering (AML) BSA compliance program and provide those audit reports to FinCEN and the casino’s Board of Directors”

Trump Taj Mahal, a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, admitted to several willful BSA (Bank Secrecy Act) violations, including violations of AML (Anti Money Laundering) program requirements, reporting obligations, and recordkeeping requirements. Trump Taj Mahal has a long history of prior, repeated BSA violations cited by examiners dating back to 2003.Neglect with regard to Anti-money laundering (AML) signifies failure by Trump Taj Mahal pertaining to the Casino’s required routine surveillance of the Laundering of Dirty Money, as outlined in the FinCEN Report.

Complete Text of the FinCen 2015 Report

Additionally, in 1998, FinCEN assessed a $477,700 civil money penalty against Trump Taj Mahal for currency transaction reporting violations. (FinCEN)

 Complete text of the 1998 report (417 pages)

Laundering “Dirty Money” at the Trump Taj Mahal? 

FinCEN distinguishes between “civilian” and  “criminal” violations. FinCEN confirms that the Settlement Agreement pertains only to civil violations...  section 7. page 2.

Donald Trump was not responsble for the incidence of money laundering at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino (8th Wonder of the World).  Nonetheless, since the inauguration of the Casino in 1990, the Trump Taj Mahal Casino has been held responsible for Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) violations as well as failure to report the laundering of dirty money.

As outlined above, two “civilian penalties” were recorded respectively in 1998: FinCEN 1998 Report. and 2015:   FinCEN 2015 Report,

How Trump's Taj Mahal Casino Went From '8th Wonder of the World' to Closure After Years of Losses - ABC News

Donald Trump’s Links to the Drug Cartels

There is evidence that Donald Trump had dealings with the Drug Cartels, which he describes as “terrorists” similar to Al Qaeda. 

In a carefully documented February 26, 2017 Newsweek Report (during Trump’s first term):

“President Donald Trump made tens of millions of dollars in profits by allowing Colombian drug cartels and other groups to launder money through a Trump-affiliated hotel in Panama, according to a new investigation by the organization Global Witness.”

The report said the drug cartels purchased hotel units to hide the origins of money earned through drug trafficking and other criminal activity, and Trump is estimated to have earned tens of millions of dollars from the deals.

Some observers [2017] are saying it is time for Congress to begin investigating the president’s finances and potential conflicts of interest. (emphasis added). See the detailed Report by Global Witness

Donald Trump and the Colombian Drug Cartels

Trump Says that Nicolas Maduro is a “Narco-Terrorist”  

Presented above: 

  1. Trump’s record regarding violations of the BSA: Bank Secrecy Act and negligence regarding AML: Anti Money Laundering as documented by FinCEN
  2. Newsweek Report pertaining to “allowing Colombian Drug cartels… to launder money through a Trump-affiliated hotel in Panama”

Oops! And now President Trump declares War on Venezuela, “capturing” the President of a sovereign nation-state, accusing him of narco-terrorism. Where is the evidence Mr. President? Up Your Sleeve?  

“On my direct orders, the United States Armed Forces have conducted an extraordinary military operation in the Venezuelan capital to bring the outlaw dictator Nicolás Maduro to justice. He and his wife, who was also arrested, will now face criminal proceedings based on a 2020 indictment by the US Department of Justice for multiple federal crimes, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.”

Trump is referring to the March 2020 indictment led by the notorious Attorney General William Barr, who played a key role in the 1988 indictment of “former CIA asset and Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega”

A  legal procedure contemplated under Trump’s (first) presidency was initiated by Attorney General William Barr, who was legal advisor and Attorney General to the late President George H.W. Bush.

“The move was reminiscent of the 1988 indictment of former CIA asset and Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. The Noriega indictment resulted in a US invasion of Panama that left hundreds – possibly thousands – of dead civilians in its wake.

Attorney General William Barr took to the podium [in March 2020] to announce Maduro’s indictment. Barr happens to be the same person who gave the first Bush administration [G.H. W. Bush] the legal justification to invade Panama just over 30 years ago [1988]. (David DeCamp, March 2020)

[…]

Via https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-drug-cartels-and-the-laundering-of-dirty-money/5911765

Did Trump Just Kill the Petrodollar?

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Hasi Fiero

The 2026 Petrodollar to Petroyuan Pivot: Why the Strait of Hormuz Just Redrew the Global Financial Map

I. Introduction: The Ghost of 1974

In June 1974, a discreet arrangement between Washington and Riyadh effectively anchored the global economy for half a century. Following the “Nixon Shock”, the 1971 termination of the dollar’s gold convertibility, and the subsequent 1973 oil embargo, the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation established a “security-for-currency” pact. The terms were simple yet transformative: Saudi Arabia would price its oil exclusively in U.S. dollars and recycle those surpluses into U.S. Treasuries; in exchange, America provided a total security guarantee. The details of this arrangement were so sensitive they remained classified until 2016.

This birthed the “Petrodollar,” a system that forced every nation to hoard greenbacks to keep their lights on. But by early 2026, this foundation has not just fractured, it has been replaced by a chaotic reality where energy security and currency hegemony have been violently decoupled. A localized maritime dispute in the Middle East has metastasized into an existential threat to the dollar, revealing that while the U.S. can still win a naval battle, it is losing the war for the “invisible infrastructure” of global trade.

II. The Expiration of the “Security-for-Currency” Pact

The pillars of American economic hegemony reached a symbolic expiration point in mid-2024, marking exactly 50 years since the original joint commission. As the structural demand for the dollar shifted, Saudi Arabia began a measured pivot toward a multi-currency model, engaging in active discussions to price crude in yuan, euros, and yen.

This transition was rendered inevitable by the changing physics of global demand. China has emerged as the world’s largest oil importer, creating a gravitational pull for alternative payment systems that reflect physical commodity flows rather than 20th-century geopolitical loyalties. For decades, the U.S. enjoyed an “exorbitant privilege,” essentially exporting its inflation by requiring the world to hold its debt. Today, that privilege is eroding under the weight of a multipolar market where China acts as the economic guarantor for nations seeking to escape the “dollar trap.”

III. Operation Epic Fury: The Kinetic Catalyst

On February 28, 2026, the theoretical decline of the Petrodollar turned kinetic. A coordinated campaign of airstrikes, the U.S.-led “Operation Epic Fury” and the Israeli “Operation Lion’s Roar”, targeted Iranian leadership, resulting in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In the ensuing power vacuum, Mojtaba Khamenei seized control and implemented a strategy of “Selective Interdiction” in the Strait of Hormuz.

The paradox of the conflict became immediately apparent: while the U.S. military demonstrated absolute superiority by sinking seventeen Iranian naval vessels in the opening days, it could not stop the economic hemorrhage. The conflict is currently costing the U.S. Treasury nearly $900 million per day, even as the “invisible rails” of trade shift toward Beijing.

Metric of Disruption (March 2026)

In a masterful move of asymmetric financial warfare, Iran established a “Green Corridor.” While Western-linked vessels are targeted by low-cost drones, tankers bound for China are granted “Sovereign Immunity,” effectively turning Iran into the physical enforcer of a Chinese-centric trade route.

IV. The “Yuan Mandate”: Economic Warfare at the Chokepoint

On March 14, 2026, the crisis evolved from a blockade into a sophisticated reconfiguration of the global financial map. Iranian officials proposed a controlled reopening of the Strait, but with a singular, transformative condition: passage is permitted only for tankers whose cargo is traded in Chinese yuan.

This created a “Bifurcated Oil Market.” International buyers now face a binary choice: comply with U.S. financial regulations and suffer a catastrophic energy shortage, or embrace the yuan to secure safe passage. This “Yuan Condition” is a direct attempt to dismantle the foundational pillars of American financial power. It introduces a two-tier pricing system: a “War Premium” for those clinging to the dollar, and a “Safety Discount” for those willing to settle on Chinese rails.

V. The Petroyuan Shield: Dark Fleets and Digital Rails

To maintain this system under the pressure of maximum U.S. sanctions, a “Petroyuan Shield” has been deployed, a fusion of maritime evasion and digital settlement.

  • Geospatial Displacement: Following the targeting of the Kharg Island terminal by U.S.-Israeli forces, the Goreh-Jask pipeline and the Jask Oil Terminal became critical. By loading oil south of the Hormuz chokepoint, Iran has moved the “Point of Sale” outside the immediate kinetic impact zone.
  • The “Dark Fleet”: A fleet of tankers utilizing “Sanctuary Jurisdictions” and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to circumvent Western detection, ensuring that 12 million barrels have already reached China despite the blockade.
  • CIPS & e-CNY: The Cross-Border Interbank Payment System and the digital yuan provide a closed-loop settlement layer, neutralizing the U.S. Treasury’s ability to freeze assets or monitor transactions.
  • Bank of Kunlun: Acting as the primary settlement hub, this institution maintains the liquidity of the Iranian security state, entirely insulated from the SWIFT network.

VI. mBridge: The “Strategic Surrender” of Western Finance

The technical backbone of this new order is Project mBridge, a blockchain-based platform for multi-central bank digital currencies. While Western finance remained tethered to legacy systems, the “mBridge Ledger” was built to handle the rails of 21st-century commodity trade. Analysts describe this as a “strategic surrender to Chinese financial technology.”

The Displacement of SWIFT:

  • Traditional SWIFT (The Legacy Model): 2–5 days for settlement; high costs via intermediaries; full visibility for the U.S. Treasury; high sanction risk.
  • mBridge (The Sovereign Digital Infrastructure): Real-time, peer-to-peer settlement; 50–70% lower transaction costs; encrypted and decentralized to reduce sanction vulnerability.

By November 2025, mBridge had already processed over $55.5 billion in transactions, with the digital yuan accounting for 95% of the volume. This platform allows the UAE and Saudi Arabia to continue trading with Asia while bypassing the volatility and political risks of the dollar-denominated world.

VII. Conclusion: A World of Two Suns

The 2026 crisis signals the end of the unipolar financial era. The 20th-century model of “security-for-currency” is being replaced by a 21st-century “commodity-for-digital-settlement” model. In this new landscape, the Petrodollar and the Petroyuan now coexist as two competing suns in a fragmented sky.

The events in the Strait of Hormuz have proven a bitter truth for the West: military superiority can clear a sea lane, but it cannot force a merchant to use a specific ledger. As the U.S. spends $900 million a day to maintain a presence in the Gulf, the “invisible infrastructure” of global trade has already migrated to a system where Washington has no jurisdiction.

[…]

Via https://newsletter.information-warfare.com/p/the-2026-petrodollar-to-petroyuan

Top US ‘counterterrorism’ official resigns, ‘cannot in good conscience’ back war on Iran

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Press TV

Joseph Kent, the Trump administration’s director of the National Center for Counterterrorism (NCC), has resigned in protest over the US‑Israeli aggression against Iran.

In a post on the social media platform X on Tuesday, Kent wrote: “I cannot in good conscience support the war against Iran.”

“Iran posed no imminent threat to our country, and we entered this war because of Israel and pressure from its powerful American lobby,” he added.

Kent cautioned that continuing down this path would only deepen the crisis facing the United States.

“You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further towards decline and chaos,” he wrote in the letter addressed to Trump.

Kent’s resignation exposes widening divisions within Trump’s political base over the war and signals that serious questions about the justification for attacking Iran have spread to both senior administration officials and the US president’s core supporters.

Trump has offered shifting reasons for the strikes and has pushed back on claims that Israel forced the US to act.

Earlier this month, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., suggested that the White House believed Israel was determined to act on its own, leaving the Republican president with a “very difficult decision.”

The White House also had no immediate comment on Kent’s resignation.

The US and Israeli armed forces launched a joint military aggression against Iran in late February by attacking targets across Tehran, assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and several senior Iranian officials.

Since then, Iranian armed forces have retaliated swiftly by launching barrages of missiles and drones at Israeli‑occupied territories as well as US bases across the region.

According to Iran’s Ministry of Defense, Iranian forces have killed and injured at least 600 American troops at various US bases since the start of the aggression.

Iranian officials say targeting US military bases in the region constitutes “legitimate self‑defense.”

Referring to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, they say the Islamic Republic has the legal right to defend itself against “acts of aggression” by the United States or the Israeli regime.

[…]

Via https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/03/17/765503/Top-S-counterterrorism-official-resigns-says-cannot-in-good-conscience-back-war-on-Iran

Iraqi resistance vows to continue fight until US occupiers expelled

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Akram al-Kaabi, secretary general of Iraq’s Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba resistance group. (File photo)

Press TV

The Iraqi Islamic resistance group Harakat Hezbollah al‑Nujaba says the resistance will continue until the complete expulsion of occupying forces and the restoration of the country’s full sovereignty.

The secretary general of the resistance group, Akram al-Kaabi, said in a statement on Tuesday that the occupiers have wrongly assumed that the continued violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and repeated acts of aggression could derail, halt, or weaken the Islamic resistance movement’s legitimate struggle for liberation.

Kaabi said Iraq’s resistance is engaged in combat with “criminal occupiers” since 2003 and it has now emerged “more powerful, more experienced, and better-equipped.”

He said after the US was forced to withdraw its forces from Iraq, it created the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group “out of an inability to confront the resistance.”

Kaabi stated yet numerous powerful resistance groups successfully defeated the US Daesh project and “once again dismantled the occupying power’s colonial scheme.”

The secretary general reiterated that the resistance is still alive in Iraq, “conducting operations to expel occupiers, achieve complete national liberation, and restore the country’s deprived sovereignty.”

Since the US and Israel launched their joint military aggression against Iran on February 28, Iraqi resistance groups have mobilized to support the Islamic Republic.

The resistance groups across the region have been carrying out daily attacks on US assets in Iraq and across the West Asian region.

[…]

Via https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/03/17/765502/Iraq-resistance-vows-to-continue-fight-until-occupiers-are-expelled

Trump’s Board of Peace rallies ‘thousands’ of troops for Gaza deployment

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Trump’s Board of Peace rallies ‘thousands’ of troops for Gaza deployment
FILE PHOTO: Palestinians search for bodies and survivors following an Israeli strike, January 31, 2026. ©  AP / Jehad Alshrafi

RT

US President Donald Trump has said members of his newly formed Board of Peace have pledged “thousands of personnel” and billions of dollars to a potential international stabilization force that will be tasked with administering Gaza.

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said countries taking part in the initiative will formalize their commitments at a meeting on February 19 in Washington, describing the deployment as part of efforts to maintain “security and peace” in the Palestinian enclave.

“Member States have pledged more than $5 BILLION DOLLARS toward the Gaza Humanitarian and Reconstruction efforts, and have committed thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and Local Police,” he wrote, adding that Hamas must uphold its commitment to full and immediate “demilitarization.”

Trump did not identify which nations have pledged troops or funding. However, Indonesia’s military said it has 8,000 personnel on standby, potentially making it the first country to formally commit forces if the government gives formal approval.

“Our troops are fully prepared and can be dispatched at short notice once the government gives formal approval,” Army spokesman Brigadier General Donny Pramono told AP on Sunday.

The ‘Board of Peace’ was formally established in mid-January as part of a Gaza peace roadmap, but Trump envisages the body as a quasi-alternative to the UN, with influence stretching “far beyond.”

Trump named himself chairman and invited dozens of foreign leaders to join what he described as
Israel has reportedly accepted an invitation, while several European nations – including France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the UK – have declined. Russia has confirmed that it received an invitation and said it is studying the proposal. Permanent membership beyond the initial three years will reportedly require contributions of $1 billion.

The US-led body is intended to oversee reconstruction, security, and political transition in the enclave, but critics have questioned its mandate and the absence of Palestinian political representation. Hamas has said it is committed to the peace process but will only disarm if Israeli forces withdraw from the enclave.

[…]

Via https://www.rt.com/news/632592-trump-peace-board-thousands-troops/

Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza: Who is in and who is out?

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Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza: Who is in and who is out?
US President Donald Trump, Washington DC, February 19, 2026. © Getty Images / Anadolu / Contributor

RT

US President Donald Trump has convened a new ‘Board of Peace’ to guide what he calls Gaza stabilization and reconstruction, drawing participation from dozens of countries across the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. While some key US allies are joining, major Western powers have declined full membership, some due to divisions over the board’s role relative to the United Nations.

The board has pledged $5 billion toward rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza and will commit thousands of personnel to international stabilization and police forces for the territory.

Formally established in mid-January as part of Trump’s Gaza peace roadmap, permanent membership beyond the initial three years reportedly requires a contribution of $1 billion. Critics have questioned the board’s mandate and the absence of Palestinian political representation.

Trump said during his speech inaugurating the panel that is the “most consequential” grouping of world leaders ever formed. He added that some countries are “playing cute” by not having joined yet, including some that he does not even want to be in the body, despite having invited them.

Who sits on Trump’s Board of Peace?

The White House has formally invited 50 countries to join the board, with roughly 35 expressing interest so far. Reports indicate that around 26 countries have reportedly formally joined and are designated as founding members, and sent representatives to the inaugural meeting in Washington.

Two EU member states that accepted invitations are Hungary and Bulgaria, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of Trump, attending in person. Kosovo and Albania are also participating.

The board’s inaugural session in Washington drew participating country representatives, ranging from heads of state such as Argentinean President Javier Milei, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, to lower-ranking officials, along with members of the US Executive Board overseeing operational planning.

Major Middle Eastern partners on the board include Israel (represented by Foreign Minister Gideon Saar), the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Jordan, Qatar, and Kuwait – all of whom sent delegations to the first session.

From Asia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Pakistan – represented by Prime Minister Shehbaz  Sharif – attended.

Russia has confirmed that it received an invitation and said it is studying the proposal.

An Executive Board of key Trump administration figures is supporting operational planning, including Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and other senior advisers overseeing reconstruction, governance, and investment portfolios tied to the board’s mandate.

Are Palestinians involved in the Board of Peace?

No Palestinian representatives have been placed on the Board of Peace, nor on the parallel Gaza Executive Board. Neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority (PA), including PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, were invited to join.

The only Palestinian representation is on the separate National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which includes Palestinians as heads of various services in the proposed ‘New Gaza’.

According to a Palestinian source speaking to the Times of Israel, Washington has only approved the establishment of a coordination committee between the PA and the Board. The committee ought to formalize ties between the PA and the Board of Peace, which is overseeing the postwar reconstruction of Gaza. PA Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa will represent Ramallah on the panel, and Gaza High Representative Nickolay Mladenov is to represent the Board of Peace, the two officials said.

After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to join the board, the move drew criticism, particularly given that his office had previously questioned the composition of its executive committee. Responding on February 11, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu’s participation in the council was “the farce of the era.”

The Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq has also described Trump’s peace plan as a “dark day for the international community.”

“Rather than ensuring an immediate and unconditional end to Israel’s unlawful occupation… the plan extends, deepens, and internationalizes it,” it said in a statement.

Who has declined Board of Peace membership?

Several Western powers and prominent global actors have refused or are holding off, citing concerns about the breadth of the board’s charter and potential overlap with the United Nations.

The EU is not joining; European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declined to come to the inaugural meeting, while a European commissioner’s attendance sparked controversy among bloc members, who had not authorized the official’s visit. France, Germany, the UK, and Spain have all declined full membership.

The Vatican has also declined, saying that the Gaza crisis response should remain under UN auspices.

Other countries explicitly declining or awaiting clarification include New Zealand (which declined outright) and Australia (still reviewing). Several Western governments that did accept invitations are limiting participation to non-member observer roles rather than full membership.

Five countries are ready to deploy peacekeepers to Gaza, US Major-General Jasper Jeffers has said during the meeting. “The first five countries have committed troops to serve in the ISF – Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania. Two countries have committed to train police – Egypt and Jordan,” he said.

He added that the ISF would begin by deploying in southern Gaza’s Rafa, train police there and “expand sector by sector.”

The long-term plan is to use 20,000 ISF troops and train 12,000 police, Jeffers said.

The original idea behind the board was to execute Trump’s blueprint for postwar Gaza, which he outlined in a 20-point peace plan in September. Trump says member nations have already pledged $5 billion toward rebuilding the territory, while the United Nations has estimated the cost at more than $50 billion.

The board is also to deliver humanitarian assistance, set up security mechanisms, and lay the foundation for economic recovery in Gaza. It wants a technocratic administration for the enclave almost fully destroyed in three years of war, managed by international experts rather than elected officials.

Trump is the chairman and a member for life.

“Each member state shall serve a term of no more than three years from this charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the chairman,” states the document, first reported by Bloomberg News. “The three-year membership term shall not apply to member states that contribute more than $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the board of peace within the first year of the charter’s entry into force.”

Under the draft charter, membership of the board is restricted to states invited by the chair. The chair would also be granted sweeping powers, including the authority to remove member states – subject to a two-thirds veto by the board – and to appoint a successor in the event of their own departure.

Is Trump’s Board of Peace a rival to the UN?

The board has also drawn criticism over taking aim at existing international institutions, including the UN. The charter’s board says the committee must have “the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed.”

Trump himself has long been a vocal critic of the UN and earlier in January announced that the US would withdraw from 66 international organizations and treaties, around half of which are affiliated with the UN system.

Asked in late January if the board could replace the UN, Trump said: “It might… The UN just hasn’t been very helpful. It’s just never lived up to its potential.”

On Wednesday, UN diplomats convened in New York a day earlier than originally scheduled to avoid overlapping with Trump’s Board of Peace meeting in Washington. During this session, they reaffirmed the UN’s crucial role in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even as the new US-led initiative aims to reshape global mediation efforts.

The UN undersecretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, referred to the moment as “pivotal,” highlighting it as a rare opportunity for the region to change direction after more than two years of conflict. However, she warned that the outcome will depend on decisions made in the coming weeks.

Several council members also condemned Israel’s recent steps to expand its control over the West Bank, with Pakistan calling the moves “null and void” under international law.

What does Moscow think?

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he had received a personal appeal from Trump inviting him to join the board.

“As for our participation in the council, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has been instructed to study the documents we have received, consult with our strategic partners on this matter, and only after that will we be able to give an answer to the invitation that has been extended to us,” he said.

According to Putin, the primary focus should concern settlement in the Middle East, as well as finding ways to address the pressing problems of the Palestinian people and resolving the “most acute” humanitarian issues in Gaza. Putin emphasized the importance of ensuring that the entire process ultimately contributes positively to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Putin also said that Russia would be prepared to allocate $1 billion to the “Peace Council” from funds frozen in the US.

Moscow has sent Washington an official note authorizing the use of the frozen assets for projects in Gaza but has not received a response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

[…]

Via https://www.rt.com/news/632794-gaza-trump-peace-board/

Hamas meets Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for first time

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Hamas meets Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for first time – Reuters
Gaza, March 2026. © Getty Images / Anadolu / Contributor

 

RT

Hamas has held its first talks with the newly established US‑led Board of Peace, as the postwar Gaza reconstruction plan comes under strain from the Iran war and continued Israeli strikes on the enclave, Reuters has reported.

The Board of Peace – an international body formally established in mid‑January as part of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace roadmap – includes business figures and officials from multiple countries. Critics have questioned its mandate and the absence of Palestinian political representation. The board’s activities have largely been put on hold in recent weeks, as Muslim member states voiced anger over the US‑Israeli bombardment of Iran and debated whether to remain involved.

According to Reuters, citing its sources on Monday, the meeting took place late last week at an undisclosed location in the region and focused on salvaging elements of Trump’s initiative, including a long‑term ceasefire and a reconstruction program overseen by the board. The talks were described as preliminary, with no concrete breakthrough announced.

Hamas officials reportedly used the encounter to demand the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt, which Israel shut following its airstrikes on Iran. The militant group reportedly warned that if Rafah remains closed and humanitarian access is not restored, it could walk away from the ceasefire agreements. 

Despite the formal truce that ended Israel’s two‑year war in Gaza last October, the IDF has continued to carry out strikes. At least 12 people, including children, were reportedly killed in attacks on Sunday, adding to a post-ceasefire death toll of more than 600. The overall figures exceed 72,000, according to the enclave’s health officials. 

The Gaza war erupted after Hamas‑led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Israel responded with a massive air and ground campaign and a blockade that severely restricted food, fuel and medical supplies, prompting accusations of genocide.

At its inaugural meeting last month, the board pledged more than $7 billion for rebuilding Gaza and promised to deploy thousands of personnel to international stabilization and police forces in the territory. While over two dozen countries have formally joined, major Western powers have mostly declined full membership. Russia has not formally joined but said it had received an invitation and was studying the proposal.

[…]

Via https://www.rt.com/news/635218-hamas-gaza-trump-peace-board/