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And we begin thinking long-term, not midterm. You know, we got five weeks from an election, we know that. Control of Congress is on the line, you understand that. Every politician in Washington knows it, every pollster is talking about it. This week, President Trump made clear his vision goes beyond November because he's trying to get things done in two years, which normally take two terms. - As president of the most extraordinary nation in history, I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day. I do not believe in letting problems fester. They only become harder to solve. So while others have talked, I have acted. We are solving decades of intractable challenges, and we are settling years of unfinished business, and we're doing it well. - And I know it's driving some Republicans nuts, but that's his vision. Look, it has this approach at the border, for example. He's not waiting for comprehensive immigration reform. The guy has sealed the border. He's actually almost done with the wall. He's finding those people who broke the law, came here illegally. He is rounding them up, and it's giving some people heartburn, but that's what he promised to do. Come here illegally, and you gotta get scooped up. It shouldn't be okay, because Washington failed to fix the system. That's what he ran on. That's what he talks about. And he's taking the same approach to the Capitol itself. I don't know if you've been to Washington lately, but he's building that new ballroom. Every president talked about needing an event center. He's doing it. He's fixed 48 monuments in D.C., 22 fountains, 1,000-plus graffiti sites, and the reflecting pool, I understand, is finally getting fixed the right way. His mantra is clear. For problems big and small, he's gonna identify it. He's going to fix it, and he's gonna do it fast. He's gonna do it in a way to make it last when it comes to trade. Remember Liberation Day? The rollout was rocky, no question. The markets reacted. The critics, well, they pounced. But the bigger idea was more important. Restructure a trading system that Trump believes has shortchanged America since World War II. Not one tariff, not one country, the entire system. Since then, the administration has secured 20 new trade deals, 20. Something around like Canada, I think it'll get back on track. One is about to be done. Believe it or not, it's gonna be Mexico. And the one front and center this week is China. It's obviously the most important. Has every negotiation gone smoothly? No, but the aim isn't the headline for tomorrow or a quick fix today. It's changing the terms of trade for years to come, or restructuring while bringing manufacturing back. Then there's the biggest example of all, Iran. With the war dragging on, the pressure is building. Voters are worried about the cost than they should be. The price of oil, diesel, fertilizer, it's all going up. The midterms are right around the corner. And even some Republicans are saying it's time to bring the war to an end. The war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly. War is terrible and no one likes war. The war should end yesterday. Yep, Trump knows it. But as I told you, the election is in triving this decision. They're waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran. It doesn't even enter my mind. The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. His position is that whether a deal comes before November or after November, the objective does not change. No nuclear weapon, no ability to fund terror proxies and intimidate neighbors. Trump is not looking to make this better for now. And I know he's driving Republicans crazy. He knows peace in the Middle East is a pipe dream with this Iran team empowered and emboldened. He's not managing Iran. He is squeezing them. He's trying to fix not for now, but forever. And what about munitions? We got to win wars with munitions. We keep seeing the headlines warning about the capacity of America's defense industrial base. But Trump is the one building up our arsenal. The cowards and traders would love to say the United States is low on munitions, but that's not true. We have more munitions than we could ever possibly even think of using, and we're building them at levels that we have never done before. In the very near future, massive munitions plants will be opening. There are 18 of them being built by the greatest defense companies in the world. Right now, 18 under construction. Yes, he's spreading them out. There used to be a big four, now there's 18. Not just for more missiles next month, the capacity to make more missiles for years, new systems. And that brings us to maybe the biggest long-term challenge of all, AI. The United States is racing China for this technology to transform our economy. It's also fueling our economy now. It's gonna transform our military. America, well, we're in the lead, about nine to 12 months in the lead. The question is whether we keep that lead. And at the same time, figuring out how to keep a technology this powerful from becoming a threat itself. And that can't be answered by a November poll. That's a debate that will outlive this election and this presidency. But when he hands off the Oval Office, you can be sure we will still be leading the world on artificial intelligence, or as he calls it, super intelligence. These aren't six-week problems, more like 60-year issues. And the president appears determined not to hand them to somebody else, Democrat or Republican, because this isn't just a midterm plan. It's not a reelection plan, it's an American plan. And joining us now is Fox News contributor from The Wall Street Journal, Kim Strassl. So Kim, I know you wrote a lot about this. You've been in a lot of personal briefings with the President of the United States. Do you see him thinking big picture like I just outlined? - Oh yeah, and Brian, by the way, this is why Americans voted for the guy, right? After decades of feeling as though they had politicians that said, "Oh, I'll solve this, I'll solve this," then nothing happens. They wanted someone who was gonna go in and break China. And by the way, just to add a couple of more things to the list that you laid out there, you know, just this week you had Vice President J.D. Vance come out, say they're taking more than 750,000 phantom accounts off of Obamacare. I mean, this is the fraud that's been sitting there in the United States government. For decades, nobody's done anything about. So it causes some disruption. I think it leaves some voters feeling unsettled, but stuff is getting done. - The other thing is rare earth. He's on a two-year plan to get another rare earth. He's gonna mine in this country. We never should have stopped, but environmentalists had a lot to do with that. But now he's cutting deals with Australia and the Far East and Central and South America. And I'll add something else. He's cleaning up our own hemisphere for the first time really in my lifetime. China and Russia are being pushed out. So is communism, Cuba's next. - Yeah, it's remarkable. On the rare earth, things also think they just netted that Greenland deal, which is one of the biggest sources of rare earths everywhere. And part of that deal says, "Hey, you can sell it to us, but you can't sell it to our adversaries." That was a big question mark, and that's done. - Yeah, I mean, this is one of those things that you've done this before. We're in the middle of a play-by-play and you think you understand a presidency. I think we're gonna understand his presidency a lot better two or three years out. But we're in the middle of it now. But let me just do something I just told you I wasn't gonna do. Let's drill down on November and midterms. And let's talk about Alaska. Mary Peltola, nine separate former staffers came out and says this woman's got a huge attitude problem, a rage issue, correct? - Right, and this is a problem for her. Look, I don't know how many committed Peltola voters are gonna care that much. But these are the kind of stories that come out and it says, "Complete mayhem among their staff, people quitting or being fired." It suggests a politician that has a lot of problems. And that matters a lot. You get some of these middle-of-the-road voters, they either decide they don't want that or they just decide they're not interested in going out to vote that day for her. So that's a real depressor when it comes to turn out for her. And I think is a boon for Dan S. Sullivan, the actual Dan S. Sullivan, the incumbent in the race. - I gotta read this to you. You're not gonna believe it. It's in your rival newspaper. It says, "This is what you said about Planned Parenthood. "One of her angry outbursts slurs and firings, "Tumult rocks a key Senate campaign is the headline. "Peltola also disparaged Planned Parenthood, "particularly one of its regional board members "running for reelection for the 2024 House seat. "Peltola was frustrated about the organization's scrutiny "of our deliberations over how to vote on a defense bill. "She said, quote, 'I hope Planned Parenthood knows "'that if we don't win, it's more their loss than ours.' "'F' those 'B's,' she later wrote in a text message "to her staff in January 2024 "that was viewed by the New York Times. "She also went on to say, 'Peltola, "'I hope she dies of a botched abortion.' "She also had a gay slur and made fun of people "with maybe who have mental issues." - Yeah, no, look, Mary Peltola has already had some issues up here. Remember, she briefly served as a House member representing Alaska, and that was because she won, essentially, because of Alaska's goofy rank choice system. So she essentially won by default. Now, this year, there is a nasty trick going on in Alaska, Brian, where there's this decoy Dan Sullivan candidate who has purely been put, clearly been put, on the ballot with help from Democrats to try to confuse voters and get them to draw votes away from the incumbent Dan Sullivan. But I think all of this adds up to show the desperation a bit of this campaign, and the problem she has, when she's trashing on kind of loyal Democratic outside groups, she's got a, it shows the frustration and the problems there. - Kim, I wanna get to Texas real quick, 'cause James Talarico is leading. If I look at the latest poll, he's up by six. That's a mayor's survey, real clear average, up by three over Ken Paxson. But with Talarico's doing a little bit different, he's changing all his views. He now says, I'm gonna work with Donald Trump on the border. I am for oil and gas. I wanna debate Ken Paxson on Fox News with Brett Baer as the moderator. And he's telling all his Democrats, don't come. I wanna act like a Republican. Does that, is that a strategy that could be successful in Texas when the others have failed Democrats? - Well, look, I think what's adding up here in Texas is, remember, this is a red state, by the way. And a lot of people who have moved to Texas too, because they want that kind of politics. So he's already facing an uphill thing. And I always question this, Democrats ran out and they recruited all these people. Oh, you know, here's a seminarian in Texas and we'll roll them out. Then people find out what his actual views are. So now he's trying to cloak those actual past views. Are Texans gonna buy it? I don't know. But one of the problems here too is, you know, Paxson's having trouble. There was a very messy primary down there and a lot of Republicans are still pretty bitter about that. So he's gotta motivate his base as well too. - He's getting like $200 million. They're gonna flood the system, see what happens. See what kind of debate that would be. Kim Strassle, always great to have you on. Thanks so much.

Transcribed automatically. Expect errors in names and numbers.

A photograph of a printed newspaper page from The Epoch Times' Opinion section, dated Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. At the top are two smaller linked headlines with thumbnail photos flanking the "Opinion" masthead: "The Data Center Backlash Has a Practical Fix" by Howard Franklin (A18) on the left, and "We Spend a Lot More on Welfare Than Bombs" by David Harsanyi (A21) on the right, the latter thumbnail showing a road sign reading "THE NATIONAL DEBT $40 [TRILLION]". Below is a large photo of a hazy, smoke-filled cityscape (buildings, an unfinished concrete structure with rebar and ladders in the foreground) captioned "Smoke rises from the site of airstrikes in Tehran, Iran, on March 6, 2026." Below that is the main opinion column headlined "Iran Is Not Even Close to Winning the War" by Mike Fredenburg, with a small circular author photo, a pull-quote in italics, and body text in three columns arguing that despite domestic political criticism, Iran's military and economy have been severely degraded and it is not winning the war against the U.S./Israel/coalition forces. A subheading "Iranian Regime in Historically Bad Shape" appears near the bottom of the third column, with "Continued on A18" at the very bottom.

Text in image: Opinion THE EPOCH TIMES A17 FRIDAY, SEPT. 11, 2026 The Data Center Backlash Has a Practical Fix Howard Franklin | A18 We Spend a Lot More on Welfare Than Bombs David Harsanyi | A21 [thumbnail sign text: THE NATIONAL DEBT $40 [TRILLION]] Smoke rises from the site of airstrikes in Tehran, Iran, on March 6, 2026. Iran Is Not Even Close to Winning the War By Mike Fredenburg The airwaves and blogs are full of pundits and other self-proclaimed experts declaring that the United States has lost or is losing the war. Certainly, there is little doubt that the war has not gone as smoothly as the Trump administration expected it to. And if you believe that the United States' inability to wrap up a nice, clean win (super unlikely) before the November midterms is a significant win for the Iranian regime, you are correct. But does that really mean that Iran is winning the war, strategically or otherwise? History tells us that merely maintaining a limited capacity to lob missiles and drones at your opponent does not mean that you are winning. Neither does the ability to exert limited control over a waterway mean that you are winning. By any reasonable standard of military degradation, strategic isolation, economic collapse, and regional realignment, it is the United States that is winning this war that probably should have been fought after Iran's proxies, including the Hezbollah terrorist group, executed the 1983 truck bomb attack on the U.S. Marine compound, killing 241 U.S. servicemen. Consider the facts: U.S. forces have sunk or crippled the overwhelming majority of Iran's conventional navy. Retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, a former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, assessed that Iran has lost 80 percent to 90 percent of its naval capacity. With the vast majority of Iran's largest naval vessels having been crippled or destroyed, Tehran's ability to project meaningful naval power has been reduced to an ever-decreasing number of small Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fast-attack boats of minimal capability. While the United States has not gained air dominance over all of Iran, it does have air superiority over significant portions, and the Trump administration has claimed that 1,500 strikes have destroyed some 80 percent of Iran's air defense system. Of course, as is the case with all wars, we won't know the real numbers until well after the war concludes, but there is little doubt that Iran's air defenses have been severely degraded. And given the dire economic circumstances the regime finds itself in, those systems will be very difficult to replace, and even if they can eventually do so, it will be many years—assuming that the regime lasts that long. On the industrial and infrastructure front, the campaign has been even more decisive. U.S. and coalition forces have struck more than 13,000 targets inside Iran, including 90 percent of Iran's weapons factories. While striking targets is certainly not the same as destroying them, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine has described Iran's defense industrial base as "shattered," with CENTCOM reporting that more than two-thirds of Iran's missile, drone, and naval production facilities and shipyards were damaged or destroyed, including nearly all Shahed drone production facilities and solid-rocket-motor production facilities—critical to the production of Iran's cheap but effective ballistic missiles. Satellite analysis has documented extensive damage to more than 50 Iranian military bases, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters, air bases, naval hubs, and ballistic-missile facilities. Iran has never suffered this level of damage, and with the most comprehensive economic sanctions seen in recent memory strangling Iran's economy, reconstituting this industrial capacity will take many years, and that assumes the extremely unpopular regime lasts that long. Beyond the battlefield, Iran's prestige and ability to wield influence in the Middle East have been severely degraded. Countries that once feared crossing Tehran publicly are now doing so, up to and including conducting air and missile strikes on military targets inside Iran. The United Arab Emirates has severed ties with Iran and has joined a self-defense pact that includes Turkey and Pakistan. Saudi Yes, the war is making a tough midterm even tougher, but to say that the United States is losing is just plain ludicrous. Arabia has participated in attacks on Iranian targets. And it genuinely looks like after decades of bullying by Iran, its neighbors, with the help of the bully of the Middle East—a major blow from which the regime will never fully recover. Iran's economy is in shambles, with point-to-point food and beverage inflation skyrocketing to between 113.8 and 128 percent, forcing essential groceries to more than double in cost over the past year. Overall inflation has soared above 60 to 80 percent, with food inflation in triple digits in many categories. Iran's currency, the rial, has collapsed, tens of thousands of factories and petrochemical plants being shuttered or damaged (estimates run to 20,000 industrial units affected), and oil revenues have dropped to a fraction of what they were. And with new sanctions coming online and a blockade it cannot lift, the Iranian regime is in dire straits, the likes of which it has not seen since overthrowing the shah. For some context, U.S. grocery prices have risen by only 2.7 percent over the past year, while overall U.S. inflation, bumped up by gasoline prices, stands at 3.5 percent. Adding to Iran's woes, when oil is not pumped from a well for an extended period, the well's future production is often severely degraded. The regime has been struggling to pay its troops and security forces on time; foreign bank accounts and financial channels have been severed or frozen. International Monetary Fund projections show a 6 percent gross domestic product contraction for 2026. And if the blockade stays in place, 2027 will be far worse. Iranian Regime in Historically Bad Shape When a government cannot pay its forces, the vast majority of whom are conscripts, keeping itself in power becomes much more difficult. Economic hardship, combined with the visible failure of the Islamic regime to Continued on A18

Described automatically. The words above are a machine's reading of the picture, not Trump's.

A screenshot of a newspaper/magazine opinion article continuation (marked "Continued from A17") headlined "Iran Is Not Even Close to Winning the War." The piece argues that despite setbacks, the U.S. and Trump administration are strategically winning against Iran, citing declining Iranian regime support, polling data, shipping route changes around the Strait of Hormuz, defense industrial base shortcomings, and media coverage framing. A pull-quote is set off in the middle column. An author bio at the end identifies the writer as Mike Fredenburg, who writes on military technology and defense matters.

Text in image: Iran Is Not Even Close to Winning the War Continued from A17 protect its own territory or deliver prosperity, has diminished the regime's support among the small minority of Iranians that actually supported it before the current conflict ramped up. Further, while precise polling is difficult to obtain given the level of repression and control exerted by the regime, reporting by the GAMAAN institute indicates that substantial portions of the population view the strikes as justified or at least as a necessary reckoning with a failed system. U.S. President Donald Trump is far more popular in Iran than the regime itself—about 44 percent support for Trump versus roughly 13 percent support for the Islamic republic. Iran's Ability to Affect the World Economy Is Diminishing Daily Each day sees the importance of the Strait of Hormuz diminished, as pipelines and tankers are being built to give the world the capacity to bypass it. In as little as six months, the necessity of transiting the Strait of Hormuz will have been reduced to a fraction of what it was at the start of the conflict, permanently weakening Iran. By any reasonable standard of military degradation, strategic isolation, economic collapse, and regional realignment, it is the United States that is winning this war. The extra cost per trip on the new routes, such as those going around the Cape of Good Hope, is only about 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the value of the oil carried; in other words, a small fraction of the price swings we have seen in oil prices. Record numbers of Very Large Crude Carrier ships are being ordered, with some 60 expected to be delivered in 2027 and many more in 2028 and 2029. This additional capacity will facilitate the use of alternative routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Yes, the strait remains a vulnerability, but there is little doubt that its significance will be reduced as a consequence of this conflict. To be fair, the Trump administration has been overly optimistic at times. The war is almost certainly not going as planned. Further, it is clear that the administration had more confidence in what airpower alone could accomplish than was warranted, overestimated the effectiveness of our air defenses, and underestimated the effectiveness of Iran's drones and missiles. The conflict has also revealed major shortcomings in our defense industrial base, highlighted the Navy's failure to develop and field truly effective littoral combat ships in sufficient numbers, and has shown that the practice of spending millions of dollars on individual missiles is a loser that puts our national security at risk and needs to be immediately corrected if we are to have any chance against an opponent such as China. These are real problems that demand urgent attention, but they are problems inherited by the current administration, not created by it. Yet none of these problems and shortcomings change the fundamental strategic picture. Iran's navy is largely gone, its air force grounded, its factories and bases devastated, its economy collapsing, its regional influence shrinking, and its great-power allies unwilling to openly provide significant support. From a big-picture perspective, the ability to sporadically launch drones and missiles to harass shipping is a Pyrrhic victory that is incentivizing the world to lessen dependence on the Strait of Hormuz. Yes, the war is making a tough midterm even tougher, as the media have seized on it to divert attention away from the hundreds of Trump administration accomplishments that have made life better and safer for the average American, but to say that the United States is losing the war is just plain ludicrous. Mike Fredenburg writes on military technology and defense matters with an emphasis on defense reform. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and master's degree in production operations management.

Described automatically. The words above are a machine's reading of the picture, not Trump's.

A scanned New York Post newspaper page (dated Tuesday, August 25, 2026) with the headline "THE BATTLE FOR IRAN / $QUEEZING" across the top. The page has three columns: a left story "Money woes a 'rial' crusher" about Iran's currency collapse, a center story with a map graphic of the Persian Gulf/UAE/Iran region showing a red arrow pointing into Iran, headlined "That cut really hurts / UAE big Iran partner," and a right story "US will sanction nations that aid Tehran" by Josh Christenson and Ryan King about Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's "Operation Economic Outcast" campaign. A faint repeating watermark reading "COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTION IS ..." overlays the page.

Text in image: 4 nypost.com New York Post, Tuesday, August 25, 2026 THE BATTLE FOR IRAN $QUEEZING Money woes a 'rial' crusher Iran's currency plummeted to new lows Monday, sending citizens rushing to exchange lines to save their cash. The rial dropped to 2.02 million to $1 when the currency markets opened, about half of what it was worth at the start of the year. The continued plunge during nearly six months of war has led Iranians to sprint for the exchange markets in hopes of getting US bills. "There is no hope for a deal or peace," Sadegh Mahmoudi, 73, said as he waited at an exchange line in Tehran. The rial has been in a free fall since November due to years of sanctions and persistently high inflation, factors that have only gotten worse during the war. While Iran's official Central Bank rate stands at 1.5 million rial to the dollar, the market rate is what Iranians pay. "President Trump decimated Iran's economy to a point where the rial has never been weaker and inflation has rarely been higher," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote Sunday in an opinion piece in the Financial Times. "The regime's final refuge now lies in the self-deception of fearful nations that still believe accommodating aggression can secure a durable peace." Bessent warned that the additional financial penalties announced Monday would effectively "collapse the regime," with Trump echoing the same threat on social media. "IRAN IS COMPLETELY COLLAPSING!!!" the president wrote on Truth Social. Tehran officials have threatened retaliation. "Any escalation of this situation will undoubtedly bring about consequences," a Foreign Ministry spokesperson told reporters on Monday. Ronny Reyes, With Wires ■ Dubai is Iran's biggest supplier of goods by far ■ One-third of Iran's imports come from the UAE, most flowing through Dubai ■ Nearly 15% of Iran's non-oil exports go to the UAE, sending $6.5B to the regime in the last 10 months ■ 70% of Iran's fuel oil exports went to UAE By RONNY REYES [Map showing IRAN, QATAR, Dubai (star), UAE, SAUDI ARABIA, OMAN, Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, with a red arrow pointing from the Gulf region into Iran] That cut really hurts UAE big Iran partner A US ally in the Middle East has finally cut off Iran — and it could be one of the biggest threats to the regime yet. The United Arab Emirates, which serves as Tehran's largest supplier of goods, suspended all trade with the Iran over the weekend — nixing $6 billion in cash that went to the regime from exports, as well as access to vital supplies from the outside world. Dubai — the UAE's thriving commercial hub — is by far Iran's largest supplier of goods. The Emirati government finally felt fed up with Iran following repeated missile attacks that triggered evacuations for the first time during the war. The move not only threatens the $21.3 billion trade relations between the two nations, it also leaves Iran without its primary way to collect US dollars, Mark Kimmitt, a retired US general and former assistant secretary of state, told The Post. "If the Emirates cease trade and blocks dollar flows, it could have a crippling effect on the Iranian economy," Kimmitt said. Dubai essentially served as Iran's window to the world after years of being slapped by Western sanctions, with traders buying and re-exporting consumer goods, food and industrial equipment to Iran. The two nations strengthened their economic cooperation in 2024, with the UAE surpassing China as Iran's most vital trading partner. Iran imported about $14.8 billion worth of goods from the UAE during the first 10 months of the 2025 fiscal year, accounting for 30% of its total imports, according to the two countries' trade data. Meanwhile, Iran exported around $6.5 billion worth of goods to the UAE during the same fiscal period, nearly 15% of its non-oil exports. Most notably, Iran also depended on the UAE for 70% of its fuel oil exports, making the UAE its largest market for the product. Refined oil also came back in the opposite direction from Dubai — with gasoline and diesel imports from the UAE helping to offset Iran's supply deficit. The blow leaves Iran with fewer means to make money and import goods as its economy continues to plummet under the strain of US sanctions. US will sanction nations that aid Tehran By JOSH CHRISTENSON and RYAN KING WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Monday the start of the Operation Economic Outcast campaign against Iran to "tighten the noose" around its regime, and warned countries against doing business with Tehran. The Trump administration aims to choke off revenue streams to the Iran by pressuring countries to stop making oil, energy and business deals with Tehran. "The clock just started ticking," he warned at a news conference, while declining to give a precise timeline before secondary sanctions against uncooperating countries would take effect. Prez on the horn Bessent revealed that the President Trump has been burning the phone lines to other capitals with demands, and stressed that America "does not have infinite patience" with countries to comply. "The president is making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime. We are already seeing results," Bessent said, without citing examples. He issued a final warning to world leaders "to make a decision between . . . America and Iran." Trump is preparing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next month. Beijing purchases

Described automatically. The words above are a machine's reading of the picture, not Trump's.

A New York Post newspaper page (page 5, dated "New York Post, Tuesday, August 25, 2026," nypost.com printed on the right margin) under the headline series "THE BATTLE FOR IRAN" / "POISON SNAKE." The main photo shows a gray-haired man in glasses and a navy suit speaking at a lectern bearing the seal of "THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY" (dated 1789), with an American flag behind him and two microphones in front. A smaller inset photo to the right shows stacks of foreign currency (banknotes and coins) spread out, apparently at a currency exchange. A caption box between the photos reads "TIGHTENING GRIP: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) announces Monday that the US will sanction countries that do business with Iran, sending Iranians scrambling to unload their currency at exchanges like this one in Tehran (above)." Below the images is a multi-column news article with a subheading "Evasion," discussing US sanctions on Iran, Treasury actions against banks (including Bank Melli), comments from Bessent and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and references to a six-month-old war with Iran and sanctions targeting entities in China and Iran tied to nuclear/missile technology. The image has a translucent circular watermark/stamp overlaid across it reading something like "...DISTRIBUTION IS ST... COMMERCIAL... PROHIBITED" (partially obscured).

Text in image: THE BATTLE FOR IRAN POISON SNAKE TIGHTENING GRIP: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) announces Monday that the US will sanction countries that do business with Iran, sending Iranians scrambling to unload their currency at exchanges like this one in Tehran (above). THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 1789 New York Post, Tuesday, August 25, 2026 nypost.com 5 roughly 90% of Iran's oil. "We want to make clear here today that no one is above the reach of US sanctions," Bessent said when asked if China would be subject to them. The United Arab Emirates already had announced last week that it was stopping all trade and financial transactions with Iran. Asked Monday told a Post reporter those actions were "likely causal, and I would expect that we would see a broad array of countries taking similar action as we continue our engagement." "The UAE has been a very good partner," he said. "You will see a wave of sanctions when you leave this meeting today and you should expect that cadence to continue." Trump had called UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed hours before the announcement. "And I would expect that you will see a major announcement of a financial institution being sanctioned by the end of this week," added Bessent. Bessent is authorized, "in consultation with the Department of State," to target countries or entities dealing with Tehran through digital assets, technology, gold, commercial aviation and shipping. That authority took effect Monday under an executive order Trump signed in January 2020. Evasion Treasury officials noted that the Iranian regime has been making use of cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions, stabilizing its rial currency with gold to hedge against inflation, using commercial planes or ships to transport weapons or their components, fighters, cash and gold. As the 6-month-old war with Iran has dragged on, the Trump administration has teased an "Economic D-Day" approach. As an example, Bessent said that countries have been told to shutter Bank Melli branches within their borders, referring to the largest government-owned commercial bank in Iran. That would include the bank's branches in the UK, France, Germany Russia and other countries. Bessent said the operation will "foreclose every other option available," calling it a "zero leakage approach" that will ensure the regime will have "no minimal breathing space" to rebuild. "Iran now faces a very clear choice, with only two paths before them: complete global isolation and a subsistence economy, or a path back to normalcy with an opportunity to rejoin the global economy," he said. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters later Monday, "The only choice they have is to come to the table and actually talk about their nuclear program, which is what the president has demanded." In addition, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control on Monday sanctioned more than 60 entities that enable Iran to obtain illicit nuclear and missile technology, conduct malicious cyberattacks and increase the regime's oil revenue through shadow fleets and other entities. Some of the now-sanctioned entities, located in China and Iran, helped move "proliferation-sensitive equipment" and other "highly sensitive dual-use technology" to Tehran's Malek Ashtar University of Technology.

Described automatically. The words above are a machine's reading of the picture, not Trump's.

A collage/screenshot compilation of multiple news headlines from various outlets, each in a different font/style typical of the source publication, arranged in a two-column grid on a white background. The headlines are all favorable toward Trump administration policies, covering topics like immigration enforcement, the economy, tax refunds, crime statistics, and foreign affairs (Iran/Strait of Hormuz). This appears to be a compiled image (likely shared as a single social media post) collecting several separate news headlines to present a composite "good news" narrative about the administration.

Text in image: FEDS: HUMAN SMUGGLING PROFITS DROP SIGNIFICANTLY AS TRUMP DRASTICALLY CUTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION Economy Prescription drug prices record sharpest drop in more than 60 years ECONOMY The Quiet Manufacturing Boom Factory construction jobs are being added ten times faster than a year ago, and the ISM manufacturing gauge just hit a four-year high after seven straight months of gains. IMMIGRATION Trump admin marks 15 straight months with zero border releases as apprehensions plunge 94% Aug 18, 2026 - Politics & Policy FBI: 2025 had biggest violent-crime drop in 90 POLITICS EXCLUSIVE Trump admin axes refundable tax credits for illegal migrants, saving taxpayers $3B WINNING: AMERICANS' TAX REFUNDS INCREASED BY $43 BILLION THIS YEAR HOME / GOVERNMENT / FEDERAL AGENCIES Trump Bump: Tax refunds jumped 17% after president's signature law, GAO reports Iran has lost significant control of the Strait of Hormuz

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Peace in the Korean Peninsula, which hasn't been achieved since the armistice in the 1950s. President Trump has single-handedly toppled Maduro, freed the people of Venezuela and secured the greatest boon for America's energy and supply chains probably in the history of our country. He's taken the fight to the drug cartels, declared them a foreign terrorist organization, used military power to fight these enemies of human civilization. And as you have mentioned, he stopped Iran, the Islamic theocracy of Iran, from obtaining a nuclear weapon that could destroy an entire city. And now you come at home. He's unleashed American energy. He's building pipelines. He's bringing the price of gas down from the heinous highs of the Biden administration. He's taken inflation from the highest level in American history down to 2 percent, the largest tax cut in American history, no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime. And he took the most unsecured, dangerous, violent, hellish border in the history of our republic, and 15 straight months, Sean, of zero releases, zero into the country.

Transcribed automatically. Expect errors in names and numbers.

A scanned/photographed typewritten letter on letterhead reading "FRANKLIN GRAHAM" at the top center. The letter is dated March 2, 2026, addressed to "Dear Mr. President," and closes with a handwritten signature above the printed name "Franklin Graham," followed by an address block for The President, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest, Washington, DC 20500.

Text in image: FRANKLIN GRAHAM March 2, 2026 Dear Mr. President, I just wanted to encourage you today. You are doing the right thing. Other presidents have just kicked the can down the road for too long and not made the hard decisions. You are making the world a safer place. Thank you for giving the people of Iran the opportunity for freedom. I am praying that God will guide your heart and direct your every step. Sincerely, your friend, [handwritten signature] Franklin Graham The President The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest Washington, DC 20500

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A screenshot of a tweet/X post from verified user Brit Hume (@brithume), whose profile picture shows a man in a dark jacket. The post quotes a passage attributed to Bret Stephens from the New York Times, commenting on how favorably the present era's conflicts compare to past wars. The post is timestamped 5:19 AM · Mar 25, 2026, with 196.5K views shown.

Text in image: Brit Hume ✓ @brithume From Bret Stephens in today's NY Times: "if past generations could see how well this war has gone compared with the ones they were compelled to fight at a frightening cost, they would marvel at their posterity's comparative good fortune. They would marvel, too, at our inability to appreciate the advantages we now possess." 5:19 AM · Mar 25, 2026 · 196.5K Views

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A screenshot of a tweet/X post from a verified user named "Joe Kent" (@joekent16jan19), shown against a black background in X.com's dark mode styling, with the X.com logo in the top right. The account's profile picture shows a man with curly gray hair. The post is a reply directed at @realDonaldTrump, dated 7:38 AM · 1/8/20, arguing for military action against Iran's ballistic missile capability and withdrawal of troops from Iraq, following the January 2020 Soleimani strike and Iranian missile response.

Text in image: Joe Kent ✓ @joekent16jan19 @realDonaldTrump We should not sit and wait for the next attack, wipe Iran's ballistic capability out and get our troops out of Iraq - they are only targets now. No US WIA/KIA is a tribute to the professionalism of our military and intel professionals not Iranian restraint. 7:38 AM · 1/8/20 X.com

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