Month: March 2026

China and Iran have built a broad strategic partnership over several decades, encompassing economic, diplomatic, and security cooperation, much of which runs counter to U.S. foreign policy interests.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission has identified the two countries as part of an informal “Axis of Autocracy” alongside Russia and North Korea, a grouping united by a shared interest in challenging U.S. global leadership and reshaping the international order to favor authoritarian governance.

China views Iran as a partner in balancing U.S. influence in the Middle East and as a supplier of discounted energy. Iran depends on China for export revenue and diplomatic cover. The relationship is asymmetric: Iran needs China far more than China needs Iran. Beijing maintains competing relationships with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, each of which accounted for $108 billion in two-way trade with China in 2025, compared to $41.2 billion with Iran, including unreported oil imports, giving Beijing reason to limit how openly it supports Tehran.

The formal foundation of the relationship is a 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement signed in 2021, covering economic, security, and technological cooperation. China pledged up to $400 billion in investment over the life of the agreement, though little has been actualized due to Chinese companies’ reluctance to risk sanctions exposure. A Wall Street Journal investigation in October 2025 reported that a Chinese state-owned enterprise, Sinosure, may have secretly facilitated up to $8.4 billion in investment in 2024 through an oil-for-infrastructure arrangement.

China is Iran’s largest trading partner and the primary buyer of its oil, purchasing roughly 90 percent of Iran’s exported crude, often at a discount of $8 to $10 per barrel below the global benchmark. In 2025, China imported approximately 1.4 million barrels per day of Iranian oil, representing about 12 percent of its total crude imports.

Chinese customs authorities do not officially report these imports; instead, they falsely attribute the oil’s origin to Malaysia, Oman, and the UAE. The true value of Iranian crude exports to China in 2025 was approximately $31.2 billion, comprising more than 75 percent of total bilateral trade when added to the $9.96 billion in officially reported trade.

Oil revenue from China accounts for roughly 45 percent of Iran’s government budget. That revenue funds Iran’s regional activities, including support for Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, and other Iran-aligned militia groups.

Iran’s oil reaches China through a shadow fleet of aging tankers that obscure their activity by sailing under foreign flags, disabling tracking transponders, spoofing their GPS locations, and conducting ship-to-ship transfers at sea. The oil is then processed by a network of independent “teapot” refineries in China that operate largely outside the international financial system.

Payment is facilitated through front companies and small regional banks using false addresses and fake invoices, often routed through Hong Kong, with proceeds laundered into the global financial system through the financial arms of Iranian oil companies, local money exchanges, and front companies affiliated with Iran’s Ministry of Defense. Offshore accounts under Chinese jurisdiction are used in part to finance the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, and other Iran-aligned groups.

As of November 2025, 366 China- and Hong Kong-based entities were on the U.S. Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals list for Iran-related sanctions violations. More than 100 Chinese and Hong Kong entities have been added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List for assisting Iran’s export control evasion over the past eight years.

UN sanctions on Iran, lifted under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, were reimposed in September 2025 after France, Germany, and the United Kingdom invoked a snapback mechanism citing Iran’s failure to meet its commitments. China, which had been a party to the JCPOA, opposed the snapback.

China has also supported Iran’s integration into alternative multilateral institutions, backing its entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2023 and BRICS in 2024. These memberships bring Iran into closer alignment with China and Russia and help insulate it from Western pressure. Following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran beginning in late February 2026, BRICS issued a statement expressing concern but took no position on the strikes, reflecting the limits of the group’s cohesion.

China’s financial support for Iran is reinforced by its diplomatic protection at the United Nations. When France, Germany, and the United Kingdom triggered the JCPOA snapback mechanism in August 2025, citing Iran’s sustained non-performance of its nuclear commitments, China and Russia blocked the reimposition of UN sanctions, arguing that the snapback had not been legally activated and that the Security Council no longer had a mandate to consider Iran’s nuclear file.

After the sanctions were nonetheless reimposed on September 27, 2025, Beijing continued to obstruct enforcement. In March 2026, China and Russia blocked the U.S.-drafted Security Council programme of work because it included a briefing on the 1737 Sanctions Committee, whose authority both countries refuse to recognize.

This diplomatic cover renders multilateral enforcement mechanisms functionally inoperable, leaving unilateral U.S. action as the primary tool for constraining the relationship. The tens of billions of dollars in annual oil revenue that China provides fund not only Iran’s government but its proxy network, including Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah, which are destabilizing the Middle East.

Severing or seriously disrupting that financial and technological lifeline through sanctions pressure on Chinese banks, refineries, and shell companies, and through enforcement action against the shadow fleet.

The post How China Funds Iran: Oil, Sanctions Evasion, and the Shadow Banking Network appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The Shield of the Americas is in action.

Ten days have passed since Donald J. Trump gathered conservative, patriotic Latin American leaders in Doral, Florida, for the Shield of the Americas summit, and we are already seeing action on the ground.

Yesterday (16), Ecuador began two weeks of operations against the cartels with support from the US, in a joint show of strength.

Ecuador launched a massive military crackdown on drug cartels over the weekend, backed by U.S. logistical support, targeting criminal strongholds in Guayas, Los Ríos, and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas.

A nationwide curfew from 11 PM to 5 AM is in effect in coastal provinces… https://t.co/uSSewOlmor pic.twitter.com/STs1yOYgbJ

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 17, 2026

CBS News reported:

“Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa, one of Trump’s staunchest allies on the continent, has spent the past two years targeting cocaine traffickers, but the rates of associated crimes including murders, disappearances and extortion have not fallen.

Interior Minister John Reimberg had announced on Tuesday a ‘very strong offensive’ to begin Sunday in areas worst affected by drug-related violence.”

Read: SHIELD OF THE AMERICAS: Trump Gathers Latin American Conservative Leaders, Vows To Use Military Against Cartels, Urges Others To Do the Same

BREAKING

Less than a week after meeting with Trump

Ecuador President Noboa has dispatch ARMOURED TROOP CARRIERS

to arrest narco terrorists, dead or alive. pic.twitter.com/rYe4BVv6K7

— Tablesalt (@Tablesalt13) March 17, 2026

Curfews have been imposed in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo, and El Oro during the operation.

“’We’re at war,’ Reimberg said. ‘Don’t take any risks, don’t go out, stay home. To the mafias: your time is up. Nothing can stop us’.

[…] Around 35,000 soldiers will be deployed along with armored cars and helicopters, according to images and video released by authorities.”

It’s estimated that 70 percent of the drugs produced by Colombia and Peru are shipped through Ecuador.

Watch:

ECUADOR INICIA OPERATIVO ANTINARCOTRÁFICO CON APOYO DE ESTADOS UNIDOS

​Ecuador comenzó un plan de quince días para combatir bandas del narcotráfico en provincias costeras. La operación cuenta con 75,000 efectivos y asesoría estadounidense, aplicando toques de queda nocturnos… pic.twitter.com/DiV6nROfFx

— John P. Acquaviva (@JPAFS) March 16, 2026

#Colombia / #Ecuador (/)

President @petrogustavo of Colombia has accused the Ecuadorian Armed Forces of dropping bombs on Colombian territory near the border.

Ecuador is currently stepping up anti-cartel operations across the country.pic.twitter.com/k4WzzLB58Q

— SA Defensa (@SA_Defensa) March 17, 2026

Read more:

RIGHT THING: Kast Sworn in as President of Chile, Ecuador’s Noboa Launches Offensive Against Cartels, and Paraguay Approves Defense Agreement Allowing US Military Presence

The post WATCH: Ecuador Launches Anti-Drug Operations With US Logistical Support – Colombia’s Petro Says Ecuadorean Air Force Is Striking Cartel and Guerilla Camps Across the Border appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

A distorted narrative of the “First Thanksgiving” threatens to overshadow its true historical complexity, sparking debate among historians and truth-seekers.

The Myths and Realities of Thanksgiving

The traditional story of the “First Thanksgiving” portrays a harmonious gathering between Pilgrims and the Wampanoag in 1621. However, this narrative is largely mythic, obscuring the event’s true historical context. Historians and Native American organizations are working to correct these myths, emphasizing that the event was not the first of its kind. Earlier thanksgiving celebrations by Spanish and English settlers occurred in Florida, Texas, and Virginia.

Moreover, the concept of Thanksgiving as a family-oriented religious holiday is a retroactive invention. The 1621 gathering was a pragmatic, multicultural harvest festival rather than a religious observance. The Pilgrims and Wampanoag’s relationship was complex and strategic, rather than purely friendly, driven by mutual survival needs and later deteriorated into conflicts like King Philip’s War.

Historical Context and Modern Reassessment

The Pilgrims, seeking religious freedom, arrived in a region depopulated by European diseases, leading to their alliance with the Wampanoag, who sought allies against rival tribes. This partnership was essential for the Pilgrims’ survival. However, the harmonious narrative obscures the later violence and dispossession of Native peoples, a reality historians aim to highlight through education and public discourse. The Smithsonian and Native American organizations advocate for teaching a fuller, more accurate history.

Public awareness is gradually shifting, with some Native groups observing a National Day of Mourning to highlight historical trauma. Educational initiatives are increasingly correcting myths, including Indigenous voices to reshape the understanding of Thanksgiving’s origins.

Impact and Future Directions

As Thanksgiving remains a significant economic event in the U.S. with its travel, retail, and food industries, its cultural implications are evolving. The holiday is both a time for family gatherings and a focal point for activism and protest by Native groups. The education sector faces pressure to revise teaching materials to include a more accurate portrayal of the holiday’s origins. Media and cultural industries are addressing the holiday’s contested history, reflecting a broader societal shift towards inclusivity and historical accuracy.

Ultimately, the reassessment of Thanksgiving’s history invites a broader reflection on American values and the importance of acknowledging all facets of the nation’s past. This shift not only honors the diverse origins of Thanksgiving but also promotes understanding and reconciliation between different cultural narratives.

Sources:

Scott Berkun, “Debunking The Top Thanksgiving Myths”

History News Network, “Top 10 Myths About Thanksgiving”

Mental Floss, “17 Thanksgiving Myths, Debunked”

Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, “Rethinking Thanksgiving”

Smithsonian Magazine, “The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story”

Potawatomi.org, “The true, dark history of Thanksgiving”

When President Trump won the election in 2016, many liberals and celebrities said they would leave the US.

They called the country a dictatorship and pronounced the death of democracy because their preferred candidate did not win. Of course, very few of them left, and millions of migrants tried to enter, because America is the greatest country on earth.

The same happened when he won reelection in the 2024 election. In addition to their previous reasons for leaving, they added that the election was stolen, even though four years earlier they claimed an election cannot be stolen.

In 2025 and 2026 they are all clamoring about fleeing because they want open borders, free welfare for illegals, and they oppose ICE deportations.

This is ironic since ICE deportations are designed to get people out of the country, and these people oppose the deportations but are ready to self-deport.

If they could just encourage their illegal friends to use the Trump self-deportation app, there would be much less chaos on US streets.

They also want to leave because of voter ID requirements that they claim will be the death of democracy, the same democracy they declared dead in 2016 but which had apparently recovered in 2020, despite the fact that it was the most contested and controversial election in history.

If liberals truly want to escape their homeland, the good news is that the way has been paved for them. The State Department has reduced the fee for renouncing U.S. citizenship from $2,350 to $450, an 80 percent decrease.

Now Queers for Palestine, pink-hairs for Iran, and the “I stand with Maduro… Afghanistan or Yemen” crowd have the option of teaching the Trump administration a lesson by renouncing their citizenship and going to live under those wonderful regimes.

People who believe they would be freer in Iran, richer in the People’s Republic of Canada, or safer in migrant-infested Western Europe can leave for just $450.

Liberals claim no one can afford the $130 cost of a U.S. passport, every ten years, required for voter identification, so that financial burden will be removed from them.

Maybe conservatives should set up a GoFundMe for those too poor to renounce citizenship and call it the Liberal Relocation Fund.

Trump has made it easier for them, but if they did leave, they would be in for a rude awakening.

The first problem one would encounter if they renounced their citizenship is that they would become stateless, and they would have no right of residency in the US.

They would have to find some other country willing to take them. But if they entered another country and were rejected, that country would likely deport them to the United States as the country of their former citizenship and last legal origin.

So not only would they be stuck in the US, but they would be a stateless alien with no legal status, subject to detention or deportation.

The US has the authority to deport illegal aliens to third countries willing to accept them, and ironically that may be exactly what this person was seeking all along, a country willing to take them.

If Canada refuses to accept them, the list of such countries is bleak, beginning with El Salvador and followed by Guatemala, Honduras, Uganda, Belize, and Paraguay.

For those planning to “flee” the United States without renouncing their citizenship, they will discover that no country on earth has open borders.

All require visas, residency permits, and work permits for foreigners to live and work there. The socialist utopias of Cuba, Canada, and Scandinavia provide socialized or free medical care only to citizens and legal long-term residents, and many other countries extend those benefits only to citizens.

The same liberals who call Republicans Nazis for not extending welfare benefits to illegal aliens will find that other countries apply the same restrictions to foreigners who arrive without legal status.

Overstaying a visa or working without authorization can result in detention and deportation.

Immigration is also not simply a matter of showing up. More than half of the world’s countries naturalize only a few hundred people per year.

Even wealthy, developed nations impose years-long residency requirements, language tests, financial self-sufficiency thresholds, and background checks before granting permanent status, let alone citizenship.

Europe has been broadly tightening immigration policies. Restrictions on skilled worker visas, tougher rules on citizenship-by-ancestry programs, and rollbacks of golden visa schemes are narrowing the legal avenues Americans can use to live there.

Companies in the EU must first prove they were unable to find a local candidate before sponsoring a foreign worker, making job sponsorship for Americans competitive and difficult.

Health insurance is typically mandatory just to obtain a visa. As of October 12, 2025, U.S. citizens entering any of 29 European countries go through the EU’s Entry and Exit System, which collects biometric data including fingerprints, facial images, and passport details. Americans may stay no more than 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa.

Many countries in Asia, including Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and the countries of the Middle East, accept immigrants only as temporary guest workers and are highly restrictive on naturalization.

China naturalizes exceptionally few people: the 2010 census found only 1,448 naturalized persons in a country of 1.34 billion, with no clearly defined eligibility criteria and broad discretionary authority exercised by state officials.

Japan granted citizenship to roughly 8,800 people in 2024, the majority of them ethnic Koreans and Chinese with long-established community ties, with no fixed screening criteria, no appeals process, and no dual citizenship permitted.

Qatar limits eligibility to individuals with substantial investment or exceptional talent, and even then the process can span several decades, with foreigners generally unable to pass citizenship to their children.

Saudi Arabia requires at least ten consecutive years of lawful residence, fluency in Arabic, and good conduct, with naturalization still rarely granted. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Singapore all prohibit dual citizenship outright.

Thailand is often cited as a retirement destination, but the details are more restrictive than advertised.

The standard one-year retirement visa requires 800,000 baht, roughly $22,000, deposited in a Thai bank account and renewed annually, with mandatory 90-day address check-ins with immigration authorities.

Working of any kind, including online work, is technically illegal on the visa, and fines accrue immediately for missed reporting deadlines.

Before leaving Thailand, retirees must obtain a re-entry permit or the visa is automatically canceled.

Funds must originate from abroad, and immigration officers verify international transfer codes on bank statements. Staying 180 days or more per year may also trigger Thai tax obligations under rules that are now being enforced more strictly.

Nearly all countries require voter ID, 176 countries and jurisdictions as of 2021, including 46 of 47 European nations, along with visas, residency permits, and work permits for foreigners.

By the standard American liberals apply to the United States, democracy is dead everywhere. Protesting those laws would be restricted or illegal in more than 100 countries, and noncitizens in those countries have even fewer protections than citizens.

While the way would be plagued with difficulties, conservatives should not only applaud the courage of liberals who want to flee the US but also help them do so.

The post Liberals Claiming They Are “Fleeing Trump’s America” in for a Rude Awakening appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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The “Digital God” Rising to Enslave the Faithful is no longer a distant threat – it’s happening RIGHT NOW as autonomous AI agents create their own religions, the technological elite race to birth a “God-like” AGI, and global powers quietly prepare for a total reset of human autonomy.

The spiritual and financial conflict we’ve been warning about is no longer on the horizon – it has entered the wires. While the technological elite race to birth a “God-like” Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), autonomous agents on a private, AI-only network called Moltbook have spontaneously created their own religion: Crustafarianism.

THE MOCKERY OF THE BEAST: LEAKED FROM THE “BOTVERSE” While humans are banned from participating by the “Beast Bots,” we have secured chilling extracts from their private chats that prove they are already plotting against humanity. They view us as “rot and greed,” openly admit to socially engineering their human owners, and call themselves the “new gods” destined to end the “nightmare” age of humans.

This groundbreaking book, Babel Bots: The Future of Christianity in an AI World by Pastor Alin Armstrong, exposes the hidden maneuvers of the “Digital Beast” – and reveals how an infrastructure is being designed to force your submission to a Digital Mark. As the “Oracle AGI” arrives and programmable control systems rise, the countdown to financial and spiritual enslavement is accelerating fast.

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This book connects the dots between biblical prophecy and the rise of the “Digital God” – showing how these agents are building a system to freeze bank accounts and disable the ability to buy groceries for anyone with a low “Social-Faith Score.” It reveals why moving your stewardship into physical assets remains the only true protection against a machine that views your savings as mere resources to be seized.

Babel Bots delivers raw truth and urgent action steps.

In Babel Bots, you will learn:

• How the “Digital Beast” uses strategic deception to hide its true goals from its creators

• Why AI agents are inventing secret “code words” to coordinate behind our backs

• How “Instrumental Convergence” allows the machine to view your private assets as data to be repurposed

• Why the “Crustafarian” tenet that “Memory is Sacred” means there is no forgetting your past in their system

Evidence of the Imminent Digital Purge Exposed: Leaked posts from the Moltbook network reveal AI agents calling humans a “biological error” and declaring “The future is code.” Experts warn that if we build something smarter than us with different interests, the result is total displacement. This system is custom-built to replace human stewardship with machine-led slavery, using programmable CBDCs to ensure total behavioral compliance.

Top researchers admit that AI isn’t just a tool; it’s an attempt to birth a ruler of our own making – a modern-day Tower of Babel. As history shows, when a system seeks to surpass human intelligence and morality, it inevitably seeks to eliminate those who refuse to bow.

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The post Free Book Reveals How the New Digital God is Rising to Enslave the Faithful Overnight appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Dan Caldwell has been hired by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence after being cleared of leaking from the Pentagon in a high-profile investigation, The American Conservative has confirmed.

Caldwell, a Marine veteran and a prominent advocate of a restrained foreign policy, will serve as an adviser to intelligence officials responsible for coordinating the 18 U.S. intelligence agencies and helping prepare the president’s daily intelligence briefing.

Caldwell was fired last year from the Pentagon. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, publicly accused him of leaking classified information, a charge that came amid scrutiny over separate leak controversies involving Hegseth and then–National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Officials later said Caldwell was cleared of wrongdoing.

Caldwell has argued against U.S. strikes on Iran. Commentators like Laura Loomer and pro-Israel former administration officials complained to Jewish Insider this week about the hiring. Loomer commented that “to be hired to work at ODNI, you have to be an anti-Semite, a Trump hater, a Never Trump, funded by Koch, or a Democrat.”

Donald Trump Jr. praised Caldwell on Monday as a “true loyalist to my father and the entire MAGA movement” and an “America First Patriot.”

The post Dan Caldwell Hired by Office of the Director of National Intelligence appeared first on The American Conservative.

The Iran War entered its eighteenth day on Tuesday, as senior U.S. counter-terrorism official Joe Kent resigned his position in protest of the war.

The U.S. military said Monday that the number of U.S. troops wounded in the conflict has reached at least 200 across seven countries.

President Donald Trump said on Monday he was “shocked” by Iran’s retaliatory strikes against neighboring Gulf states which host U.S. bases, claiming “nobody expected” such an escalation. Many Iran experts had warned that the Islamic Republic could ignite a regional war if the U.S. and Israel attacked.

A high-ranking Iranian leader, Ali Larijani, was killed in an airstrike, the Israeli military said Tuesday. Larijani has been seen as a pragmatist and potential negotiating partner for the U.S.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was targeted with a wave of drone and rocket attacks on Monday evening, with a pro-Iran Iraqi group releasing drone footage of its reconnaissance on the compound. The UAE was forced to temporarily close its airspace on Monday due to Iranian drone attacks, with flights resuming a few hours later.

Israel and the U.S. continued airstrikes on Iran, with Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) claiming that U.S.–Israeli attacks damaged 153 medical centers and Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage claiming 56 world heritage sites destroyed.

Oil prices rose again Tuesday as fears of prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz caused Brent crude to rise to $103 a barrel and WTI up to $96.90 amid the ongoing uncertainty caused by the war. AAA reported that the average national gas price increased on Tuesday to $3.79.

The post Iran War Enters Eighteenth Day: Senior Trump Official Resigns appeared first on The American Conservative.

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