Badlands Brief
Fake News Propaganda Exposed, Iranian Investment Opportunities, and Talibros in Moscow
The Badlands Brief is your daily drop of Badlands’ takes on the narratives dominating the info war. Read on, and join the conversation in the comments section.
As Schrodinger’s War Rages On, The US Plans an Investment Fund into … Iran?
U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative memorandum of understanding on May 28 that would extend the current cease-fire by 60 days and launch a new round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, according to U.S. officials. The proposal remained subject to final approval by President Donald Trump. Reuters reported that the agreement would begin a formal negotiation period focused on nuclear issues.
According to reporting by The Associated Press, the draft framework would require Iran to cease collecting tolls in the Strait of Hormuz and remove mines from the strategic waterway within 30 days. In exchange, the United States would begin easing its naval blockade of Iranian ports and discuss sanctions relief during the negotiation period.
The future of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile remains one of the principal unresolved issues identified for the talks. Vice President JD Vance said negotiators had reached a tentative agreement but were continuing discussions over language and nuclear-related provisions, and he said it was unclear whether or when Trump would approve the proposal.
Separate reporting citing the New York Times said the draft memorandum also included discussion of a possible international investment or reconstruction fund for Iran in the event that a broader final agreement is reached. Details and terms of any such mechanism had not been finalized.
Burning Bright: Last week, the New York Times reported that there are plans for a $300 billion US investment fund into Iranian reconstruction once the very real war Donald Trump is waging with the definitely very real and not fake so-called Iranian Regime runs its course.
The media machine is very confused by the prospect that Trump already has massive infrastructure and investment plans into a foreign adversary, especially when said investments will no doubt bolster said adversary, and especially when said adversary is the absolute most seriously bad adversary of all the other adversaries.
For now.
The thing is, when you understand that Trump and the so-called Iranian Regime are the ones putting the squeeze on the Globalist Hegemon, and that the closest allies to said Regime are Russia and China, two of the three core pillars of the Sovereign Alliance alongside the United States, it's not only possible to see such reconstruction efforts coming, but to project them in advance.
In fact, I even named the process as part of my Iran War series, which itself is an evolution of the Multipolar War thesis I've been constructing for years.
From April ...
"The fragile off-ramp from the latest Iran theater—hailed as a face-saving ceasefire while detonating a cascade of second-order exposures—has accelerated the very transitions the Invisible Enemy once relied upon halting to maintain its grip through scarcity, dependency and perpetual friction.
Energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz are resuming under new terms. Iran is asserting direct, tiered control—limiting transits, vetting affiliations and floating toll structures that lean into DeFi rails for Gulf reconstruction.
Currency rails are shifting in real time.
Value exchange mechanisms are decoupling from the old petrodollar chokeholds.
Markets are pricing in reconstruction booms, energy prices are stabilizing on fundamentals rather than fear, and the European Collectorate is being left staring into the void of its own exposed fecklessness on both power projection and resource security grounds.
This was never random. It was the public translation of the patient architecture of liberation I first named years ago.
And the Sovereign Alliance—anchored by the US under Trump, Russia under Putin and China under Xi, now extending quiet nods to a reforming Iran and other inverted players stepping onto their own redemption arcs—has accelerated these transitions.
I believe Trump is strengthening the position of the American people precisely by weakening our position in the System of Systems.
Economic, energy and military disentanglements are not markers of retreat, then. They are the prerequisites for genuine resurgence and convergence, and the disentangling of the Iranian Knot acts as a microcosm for this global dialectic between Sovereign Disentanglement and Multipolar Reconstruction."
Usually, the Building comes AFTER the Breaking.
But the path to the Golden Age is Bicameral.
(Read the full feature, if you fancy.)
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Fox News, Among Others, Reports Clickbait Fake News Story Regarding Iranian President’s Resignation; Obviously Propaganda
A number of media outlets [falsely] reported that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had offered his letter of resignation, “citing a lack of authority inside the country’s ruling system.” According to the report, Pezeshkian accused the IRGC of “excluding him from major and vital decision-making processes in the country, and that the vacuum created by this situation has enabled hardline factions within the IRGC to take control of affairs, the source said.”
The claim of Pezeshkian’s resignation was later proven false by the Iranian government.
The story was originally published by Iran International with the headline, “Iran’s president offers resignation, citing total takeover by IRGC commanders,” and was cited by all of the other news outlets as the source in their reporting.
Fox News originally published the report as the lead story on their website with the headline, “Iran’s president reportedly submits resignation letter amid claims of deepening internal divisions,” and later amended to read, “Iran president’s request adds new twist to US-Iran talks as Trump weighs peace proposal.”
A number of other outlets who reported the story, including The Jerusalem Post, kept their original article posted on their websites.
GhostofBasedPatrickHenry: I saw this story break last night, right as I was going live on The Narrative with Burning Bright.
I only had time to check Pezeshkian’s X account—which had no mention of a resignation—before posting my knee-jerk reaction as our stream was beginning.
Something about this story didn’t feel right. That initial instinct was vindicated when the Iranian government later dismissed the report as fake news.
Before I get deeper into it, I just wanted to take a moment to dunk on Fox News—or should I say Faux News—who had the audacity to update the headline in order to avoid embarrassment, but forgot to update the image or the article, itself. The story remained the lead on their website throughout the night.
Here is a screen cap of the original headline on their website.
And here is the updated headline. Note that the image still bears the inlay caption, “REGIME RIFT.”
The also forgot to write a new article that corresponds with the new headline.
I suppose the article does still correspond with the headline, being that Pezeshkian had reportedly “requested” to resign, but the fact that they changed the headline seems to indicate that they likely knew the story was pure propaganda and wanted to minimize embarrassment.
The outlet that originally reported the story is called Iran International. The headline they published read, “Iran’s president offers resignation, citing total takeover by IRGC commanders.”
A quick search revealed that Iran International is owned by a privately-owned UK-based company called Volant Media. In fact, this information can be found in the footer of Iran International’s website.
Volant Media is owned by a British-Saudi film executive named Adel Abdulkarim Alabdulkarim. A 2018 report by The Financial Times of London accused Alabdulkarim of receiving funding from Israel, which he denied.
Anytime I learn that a media outlet which ostensibly presents itself as a “Middle East” news organization that is based in UK, I assume that it is actually British Intelligence. This feeling was compounded when I learned that Alabdulkarim was a Saudi royal with British citizenship, and further compounded when I learned that Iran International beams its signal directly into televisions in Iran.
Clearly, this organization is a propaganda outlet. So it makes sense that it would push this Fake News nonsense. I just find it hilarious and awesome that they got caught making up news, and that Fox News (among others) are also exposed in the scheme.
It would seem that their intended goal was to gaslight the public (both inside and outside Iran) into believing that Pezeshkian (who is a heart surgeon) was resigning and that the “hardliners” at the IRGC had taken over control of the civilian government, likely in an attempt to sway public opinion toward supporting the resumption of hostilities between the US and Iran.
This could not have happened to a more deserving group of lying sociopaths.
Bondi Says DOJ Produced “Everything Required” From Epstein Files
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi told the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door interview Friday that the Justice Department produced the Epstein-related materials required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, according to The Epoch Times.
ZeroHedge republished The Epoch Times article and reported that Bondi’s written opening statement said then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche oversaw the file-release process. The repost said Bondi acknowledged redaction errors but defended DOJ’s compliance and transparency.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said transcripts of the interview would be released as quickly as possible, according to the reposted article.
Ashe in America: This is still going on?
I want all the predators rolled up, too, but I generally believe the predators are also the powerful, and there are many signs that the powerful are panicking because accountability is coming. I imagine that will include the predatory conduct on all fronts. I’m good to see what happens.
You can’t rush justice if you want criminals to face accountability.
You also can’t skip phases in a transformation program if you want your change to stick.
Regardless, the suggestion that the administration is covering up pedo rings and somehow protecting Epstein collaborators is tiresome; it’s fodder for people that watch “reality” TV and care about the characters.
That being said, the “everything required” line from Bondi reminds me of what the election cabal said about the files they wiped during the Trusted Build.
“We preserved all the records we were required to under the law.”
So, “pass better law” is the underlying shade, putting the burden on the lawmakers, and rightfully so.
But the government dodging inquiry and transparency in this way is also tiresome.
It’s good of Pam Bondi to remind us all of that, so we can do something about it.
Congress Accused of Quietly Moving to Integrate US and Israeli Militaries
A draft provision in the House Armed Services Committee’s Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act would expand defense cooperation between the United States and Israel through a proposed “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” identified as Section 224 of the bill. The provision would authorize broader collaboration in defense research and development, weapons co-production, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and emerging technology fields including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, autonomous systems, directed energy, cyber capabilities, and biotechnology. It also references “network integration” and “data fusion” between the two countries.
The United States and Israel already cooperate on missile defense programs. The proposal would extend cooperation into additional defense technology sectors outlined in the legislation.
A recent Quincy Institute brief by Steven Simon argues that deeper defense-industrial integration could shift elements of the bilateral relationship away from annual military aid votes and into defense acquisition processes, which the brief describes as less publicly visible.
Jon Herold has dug into this, and relayed to me that he thinks the whole accusation is overblown. He’s probably right—I certainly trust Jon’s judgement when it comes to interpreting government documents—but I also can’t help but laugh at how stupid and useless the GOP has become.
They choose now, of all moments, to introduce this bill? Do they lack any semblance of self-awareness? (Read the room, dudes.)
Whatever the truth of this “integration” document may mean, the narrative that it is spinning up is fantastic.
“Does Israel control the US Congress?”
“No, of course not. Don’t be antisemitic.”
[Congress announces bill to allegedly integrate the IDF and US Military.]
You really can’t make this shit up. These people actually are this stupid, it would seem. As they are all being accused of being Israel’s bitch, they pick this moment in time to introduce a bill like this one?
Accelerate.
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Trump Goes Ham on an “Obama Judge” After Kennedy Center Renovation Blocked
A federal judge has ordered the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and blocked a planned two-year closure of the venue for renovations, ruling that only Congress has the authority to change the institution’s name. The decision was issued May 29 by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in litigation brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio.
The ruling halted plans approved by the Kennedy Center’s Trump-appointed leadership to close the facility for a major renovation project. The court also found that the center could not formally bear a name other than the one established by Congress.
In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump criticized Cooper, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, and defended the renovation proposal. Trump said construction materials had already been ordered or were about to be ordered and described the project as a major structural and aesthetic rebuilding effort.
Trump said the Kennedy Center suffers from deteriorating infrastructure, including rust, aging mechanical systems, failing pipes, pest issues, and structural problems that he argued make extensive renovation necessary.
Following the ruling, Trump said he would work toward transferring responsibility for operating the Kennedy Center to Congress, arguing that the court’s decision prevented him from carrying out his plans for the institution.
Ashe in America: "Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into 'NEVER NEVER LAND.'"
Do you guys think “Never Never Land,” is a nod to Michael Jackson or Epstein’s Island or both?
My other take in the brief today is about Bondi and the Epstein files. Maybe I’m over-connecting things… or maybe the Epstein-led phase of the transformation program is about to run some cycles.
Separately, the quote from President Trump above implies he might just shut it down, which is also acceptable.
Accelerate.
Russia, Afghanistan Sign Military Cooperation Deal in Moscow, Signaling Reconstruction
Russia and Afghanistan signed a military-technical cooperation agreement May 27 at an international security forum in the Moscow region, Interfax reported. The report said the signing followed a meeting between Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu and Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqub.
Yaqub said ties with Russia were important and that the two countries had expanded bilateral relations, according to Interfax. Shoigu said Western countries should unfreeze Afghan assets and take responsibility for post-conflict reconstruction.
Interfax reported that Shoigu said May 14 that Russia had built dialogue with the Taliban and was developing a full partnership with Kabul.
GhostofBasedPatrickHenry: This is a callback to August 2024, when Putin invited the Taliban to the St Petersburg Economic Investment Forum (SPIEF) and they stole the show by walking around with shopping bags and freshly purchased shiny dress shoes.
That same week, it was reported that Biden’s State Department had “mistakenly” sent the Talibros $239M, which is amazing. And, of course, we mustn’t forget that in 2020 President Trump signed the Doha Agreement, which the Taliban honored when they hunted down and killed the ISIS-K terrorists responsible for bombing the Abbey Gate and killing 13 US soldiers during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.
Now President Putin is formally strengthening the security ties between Russia and the Taliban, moving toward a full partnership as Russia publicly demands that The West lift all sanctions against Afghanistan.
It’s been too long since we’ve seen a memetic moment out of Putin or the Talibros, so I feel like they are both on deck to deliver. Hopefully we can also throw Kim Jong Un in there for some additional spice. (And the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Those guys really know how to shit-post.)
PS - I will never not laugh at any image of the Taliban sitting in a highly formal setting—like a board room—while in full regalia. Classic.
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Our Developer in Chief never cleared out a blighted property without plans already in place for the rebuilding. He didn't ask for ballroom plans after knocking down the decrepit old East Wing, the Reflecting Pool plans and materials were in place before the stagnant water was drained, and Iran's reconstruction is substantially ready to roll with a firm budget nailed down. $300B for Iran Reconstruction isn't a guess.
To me our battle in Iran is easy to understand. It is our God versus Allah who is their God. Our God is peaceful and loving, their God is war like and requires death to non-believers. I believe what we have here is a failure to communicate. How many Gods are there? Are we going back to Ancient Greek logic?
The Abraham Accords are aimed at getting this old argument onto the table and dealing with what kind of God the world needs to survive. Do we need to destroy and kill over our differences or can we just accept our likeness as human beings and work together to build a better world where everyone can prosper by using his or her own talents to advantage?
If we just back off and observe our collective stupidity from above, conflict can be seen as a tool of evil. The battle is between love and hate. This is why I keep saying Iran needs an attitude adjustment. The majority of Iranians agree with me, their leadership is where the attitudes must be altered. Trump is working on it and knows he has a winning plan.