August 27, 2026

Iran and Oman Announce Hormuz Deal - What Does This Mean for Trump’s ‘Economic Onslaught’

August 27, 2026 | Pakistan is the latest country to hit back after the White House threatened countries who trade with Iran.

China has already said it won’t be taking orders from America.

So is this another failed bid by Donald Trump to bend Iran and its backers to his will? Or could this actually work?

Several senior Iranian leaders have recently acknowledged the economic pain that the country and its people are feeling.

On this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Mohammed Marandi, a professor at Tehran University and a former adviser to Iran’s nuclear negotiating team to get a view from inside Iran.


Canada Stands Up to America as Trump Imposes 50% Tariffs on Its Closest Ally

Aug 27, 2026 | Donald Trump’s ludicrous tariff policy has become a defining feature of his second term, imposing costs on American businesses and consumers while raising serious questions about the limits of presidential power.

His escalating trade dispute with Canada, which has chosen to resist rather than submit to American pressure, highlights both the economic and constitutional consequences of his approach.

With courts challenging the legality of his tariffs, Congress and the judiciary now face a crucial test of whether they will enforce constitutional limits and prevent the president from using trade policy to punish American workers and consumers.



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August 27, 2026


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Germany’s Second Richest Man Died – What Happens to the Money? | DW News

When Klaus-Michael Kühne died without heirs, he left behind one of Europe's biggest fortunes. So where is that money going, and why might Germany see little of it?

Paul Jäger tells us more.

Trump’s Iran Gamble: Will It Backfire? | The Global Story

Aug 27, 2026 | There have been a lot of sanctions programmes against Iran. But this week US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Operation Economic Outcast, which promises to go further than ever before. It will punish not just Iran but any country helping Iran - including China. It is the Trump administration’s latest attempt to end the war. Will it work? We speak to Vali Nasr, professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University, and ask whether in trying to end one war, President Trump risks starting a global trade conflict.

More and More Countries Are Dropping the US Dollar

Ben Norton tells us all about this phenomenon.

Steve Rosenberg: What Are the Russian Papers Saying about the CIA Director's Trip to Moscow?

August 27, 2026

August 26, 2026

China Hits Out at 'Illegal' US Sanctions on Iran and Trading Partners | BBC News

Aug 26, 2026 | China has vowed to protect its interests after the US announced plans to widen economic sanctions against Iran and its trading partners, which include Beijing.

Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China was firmly opposed to what it called "illegal unilateral sanctions" and would take "all necessary measures" to safeguard its rights.

US President Donald Trump has said that the US Navy has removed or detonated all mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistan say talks with Iranian leaders on the path to peace are making progress.


"Most Americans Are Getting Poorer": Robert Reich on Inequality & the Failures of Corporate Dems

Aug 26, 2026 | Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly attacked the former labor secretary under President Clinton, Robert Reich.

Reich wrote in a post online that “Trump Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week the K-shaped economy — the widening economic gap between the rich and the poor — is 'dead.'

Hogwash. Not only is the K-shaped economy very much alive, even CEOs are admitting it’s a problem.” The treasury secretary went on to suggest the University of California, Berkeley should fire Reich.

“There’s something in this administration,” says Reich. “It’s almost a kind of testosterone poisoning in which everybody has to be really nasty, put down everybody else.”

Reich goes on to discuss economic inequality, pointing out that while inflation is on the rise, “most Americans are finding that their wages are stagnant … which means that most Americans are getting poorer.”



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August 26, 2026


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„Das frisst einen auf“: Alltag im Iran unter Wirtschaftskrise

Aug 26, 2026 | Irans Zivilbevölkerung leidet im Alltag zunehmend unter den US-Sanktionen. Derweil forderte die US-Regierung am Montag, andere Staaten sollten ihre Geschäftsbeziehungen zum Iran kappen. Damit will Präsident Trump den Druck auf die Führung in Teheran erhöhen, um den von ihm und Israel im Februar begonnenen Krieg zu beenden.

August 25, 2026

Guerre commerciale : Donald Trump veut rebaptiser le « lac Ontario » en « lac d'Amérique »

Cette capture d'écran provient de cet article du Figaro. | Le président américain Donald Trump à la Maison Blanche, à Washington, le 24 août 2026. Jonathan Ernst / REUTERS

LE FIGARO : « Les États-Unis réfléchissent sérieusement à changer le nom du lac Ontario en lac d’Amérique, car nous ne comptons plus faire beaucoup de business avec l’Ontario », a écrit le président américain sur son réseau Truth Social.

Donald Trump, cible d'attaques virulentes du dirigeant de la province canadienne de l'Ontario, a dit mardi vouloir changer le nom du lac Ontario, frontalier des États-Unis et du Canada, en « lac d'Amérique ». Cette idée, lancée en pleine reprise des hostilités commerciales entre Washington et Ottawa, rappelle évidemment l'une des premières décisions du président américain après son retour au pouvoir, à savoir changer le nom du « golfe du Mexique» en «golfe d'Amérique ». » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | mardi 25 août 2026

China Responds to US Sanctions: "Illegal" Threat over Iran Trade Branded ‘Operation Economic Outcast’

Aug 25, 2026 | China has officially slammed US threats of secondary sanctions over its trade with Iran, calling the measures illegal and vowing to take "all necessary measures" to defend its national interests. As Beijing continues to purchase an estimated 80% of Iran’s oil exports, this standoff puts the Trump administration's "Operation Economic Outcast" to the ultimate test. While US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sanctions on 60 individuals, entities, and vessels tied to Iranian trade, Chinese financial institutions were noticeably absent from the list. When asked why the White House stopped short of targeting Beijing directly, Bessent responded: "Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?"


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It doesn’t matter what scheme or ‘operation’ these ineffective people dream up, they are destined to lose this war with Iran. Iranians are an extremely intelligent and very well-educated people. They are also wily. If I am not greatly mistaken, victory is Iran’s for the taking. — © Mark Alexander

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August 25, 2026


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Trump’s Trade War with Canada Could Get ‘Very Nasty’ | Sarah Baxter

Aug 25, 2026 | “It could get very nasty indeed, economically, for both sides.”

Trump’s latest attack on Canada is “particularly farcical”, with threats to increase tariffs on Canadian car imports. However, a trade war could damage both countries, says Sarah Baxter, director of the Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting.


« Ça a toujours irrité les Américains » : pourquoi la langue française s'invite dans le bras de fer commercial entre le Canada et les États-Unis

LE FIGARO : Le premier ministre Mark Carney a rompu les négociations vendredi pour défendre l’exception culturelle québécoise et notamment l’usage du français, remis en cause par l’administration Trump.

Le Canada monte au créneau pour défendre le français. La défense de la culture québécoise et de la langue de Molière s'est imposée comme l'un des principaux points d'achoppement des négociations commerciales entre Ottawa et Washington, selon Mark Carney, qui affirme avoir refusé de transiger face aux exigences américaines. « Il y a un écart énorme entre les perspectives canadiennes et les perspectives américaines » en matière de culture, a souligné lundi le premier ministre canadien, à qui il a pourtant été souvent reproché un manque de sensibilité au français.

Mark Carney, qui poursuit son apprentissage de la langue française, a ainsi fustigé les demandes introduites « dans les dernières heures » par la partie américaine, qui remettaient en cause les subventions à la culture francophone, la place des médias francophones en ligne et l'obligation d'étiquetage bilingue des produits vendus au Canada. C'est aussi une question de « découvrabilité » des productions québécoises, a ajouté lundi le premier ministre canadien, c'est-à-dire de « disponibilité (du contenu) en ligne et (de) sa capacité à être repéré parmi un vaste ensemble », comme l'indique le gouvernement du Québec sur son site internet officiel. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | mardi 25 août 2026

Steve Rosenberg: Russians "Withdrew More Cash Than They Deposited"

Aug 25, 2026 | In today’s Russian papers: a Putin decree, Russians “withdrew more cash than they deposited, praise for Marine Le Pen and a message for Andy Burnham: “He won’t see Moscow in his dreams. He should…in his nightmares.”

Mark Carney Says Canada Can’t Accept US Trade Deal That Would Weaken French Language

THE GUARDIAN: Prime minister praised for rejecting US trade proposal as Trump shows little interest in retreating from dispute

Screenshot taken from this Guardian article. | Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and Canada-US trade minister Dominic LeBlanc at a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday. Photograph: Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press via AP

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 the US president, Donald 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”.

The prime minister’s decision to abandon trade talks with the US spurred declarations from political leaders and pundits in Canada that the country is now fully locked into an economic war with its longtime ally. » | Leyland Cecco in Toronto | Monday, August 24, 2026

How lucky Canadians are! They are being led by a cultured gentleman with oodles of refinement, sophistication, intelligence, and class. Americans, by contrast, are being led by a philistine! — © Mark Alexander

ALSO READ:

From ‘Fortress North America’ to All-Out Trade War: How the U.S.-Canada Talks Collapsed: Detailed accounts of the final hours of the negotiations show that, while the United States offered Canada what it said was the best deal of any country, what Canada had to give up in exchange was seen as unthinkable. »

U.S. Tariffs Could Price Canadian Firms Out of U.S. and Threaten Thousands of Jobs: The 50 percent tariffs President Trump imposed on Canadian exports to the United States will make it impossible for many Canadian companies to continue to sell to the U.S. market, economists say. »

August 24, 2026

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Launches Operation Economic Outcast

August 24, 2026 | Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a sweeping new US economic campaign against Iran and warned countries, banks, and companies around the world that helping the Iranian regime could cost them access to the US dollar system.

Bessent unveiled "Operation Economic Outcast," a campaign aimed at severing Iran's financial connections and revenue sources around the globe. Treasury announced new sectoral sanctions targeting digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping, while the Office of Foreign Assets Control is sanctioning more than 60 entities, individuals, and vessels linked to Iranian oil revenue, nuclear and missile procurement, and cyber operations.

Bessent said the US will pursue a "zero leakage" approach, warned that no country or entity is beyond the reach of US sanctions, and said nations enabling Iran are being given defined timelines to stop identified activities. He also said a major financial institution could face sanctions by the end of the week.

During questions, Bessent addressed potential sanctions against Chinese banks and shipping firms, pressure on countries doing business with Iran, Treasury bond yields and buybacks, the US-Canada relationship, and why the administration is giving Iran's economic partners an opportunity to change course before imposing additional secondary sanctions.




LESEN SIE AUCH:

USA wollen Iran wirtschaftlich „erdrosseln“: Bessent verkündet Start von Operation „Economic Outcast“: Die USA hatten einen „ökonomischen D-Day“ gegen den Iran angekündigt. US-Finanzminister Bessent droht nun Handelspartnern weltweit. Welche neuen Sanktionen kommen? »

À LIRE AUSSI :

Nouvelles sanctions, ultimatum aux pays partenaires, menace sur le système dollar... Washington lance son offensive économique contre l’Iran : Les États qui laisseraient des entités « faciliter le blanchiment d’argent au nom de l’Iran » se verront « expulsés du système dollar », a prévenu lundi lors d’une conférence de presse le secrétaire américain au Trésor, Scott Bessent, ajoutant que « le compte à rebours (avait) commencé ». »

Democracy Now! “Most Stupid Trade Fight in History”: US & Canadian Workers Lose in Trump’s New Tariff War

August 24, 2026 | The US-Canada trade war is deepening after talks collapsed without a deal on Friday. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the Trump administration of issuing demands that would compromise Canada’s sovereignty and undermine key industries.

On Saturday, the United States slapped 50% tariffs on around $20 billion worth of imports from Canada, and Carney announced retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion of US products set to go into effect on September 8.



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