The US Treasury Department has announced new sanctions targeting the global shipping interests reportedly controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, son of senior Iranian official Ali Shamkhani, in what it described as the most significant Iran-related action since 2018.
The sanctions aim to dismantle what Treasury officials called a “vast network” used to sell Iranian and Russian oil through container ships and tankers operated by front companies and intermediaries.
The network, they said, generated tens of billions of dollars used to support the Iranian government.
“These profits have helped prop up the Iranian regime,” the Treasury stated, accusing Shamkhani of leveraging corruption and personal connections in Tehran to evade existing restrictions.
In total, the action designates 15 shipping firms, 52 vessels, 12 individuals, and 53 entities involved in sanctions evasion, with operations spanning 17 countries, including Panama, Italy, Hong Kong, the UAE, and the UK.
A US official said the measure was “tailored” to avoid disrupting global oil markets while striking specific targets.
“From our perspective, given where this individual fits, given his connection to the supreme leader and his father’s previous sanctions activities, given the Iran-related authorities, it’s critically important to emphasize that this is an Iran action that is meaningful and very impactful,” the official said.
The EU sanctioned Shamkhani earlier in July for his role in the Russian oil trade, and his father, Ali Shamkhani, was sanctioned by the US in 2020.
Tehran condemned the decision as a hostile move, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei calling it a “blatant assault on the Iranian people and their national dignity,” adding that it reflected “the hostility of American policymakers towards the Iranian people.”
He accused Washington of seeking to “cripple Iran’s development, sow internal discord, and erode the rights and livelihoods of ordinary citizens.”
“The Iranian people, fully aware of the malicious intent of the aggressive sanctioning party …, will stand firm with all their might to safeguard their dignity and interests,” Baghaei said.
He criticized the US’s “addiction” to unilateralism and said its measures repeatedly violated “international law, human rights, and freedom of sovereign trade.”
He called for international accountability and reaffirmed Iran’s “unshakeable resolve” to defend its sovereignty and continue its development goals.
Sanctioned entities include Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars Company, linked to Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff. Among the targeted vessels are Bendigo, Carnatic, Luna Prime, Goodwin, Davina, and Spirit of Casper.
Spain Beats Germany, Tops EU, In Asylum Requests Amid Shift In Migrant Patterns
Germany is no longer the EU’s top destination for asylum seekers, as applications from Syrians plummet following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December, according to an unpublished EU Agency for Asylum (EUAA) report seen by the Financial Times.
The report says the bloc’s asylum system is undergoing a “significant shift,” with May 2025 seeing 64,000 applications — nearly 25% fewer than the same month in 2024, according to the Financial Times. The drop was driven by an “extremely abrupt” fall in Syrian claims, from about 16,000 in October 2024 to just 3,100 in May.
“Since February Germany has no longer been the top EU+ destination; Spain, Italy and France all received more applications in May 2025,” the EUAA writes.
The Financial Times writes that Germany, long a top choice for Syrians, saw overall claims in May fall to 9,900 from 18,700 a year earlier. Spain now leads with 12,800 applications, mainly from Venezuelans fleeing the “severe economic and political crisis” in their country — a trend the agency partly links to U.S. deportations.
Italy is second with 12,300 claims, driven by Bangladeshis and Peruvians. France follows with 11,900, led by applicants from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, and Haiti.
The EUAA stressed the fall in Syrian claims is “likely not due to any asylum policy changes” but “rather, the shift likely reflects changing circumstances in Syria.”
Despite the decline, Germany still hosts the largest asylum seeker population, having granted asylum to 150,000 people in 2024, compared to about 50,900 in Spain, 40,000 in Italy, and 65,200 in France.
Germany’s Fiscal Free Fall: Record Debt, Recession, And Welfare Crisis
Submitted by Thomas Kolbe
Germany’s 2026 federal budget is set. The cabinet has reached an agreement on the framework, with only parliamentary approval pending—a mere formality. With a record deficit and no credible path to fiscal consolidation, Germany is lurching toward a debt crisis.
On Wednesday, the federal cabinet greenlit the 2026 budget. Core expenditures are projected at €520.5 billion, €174.3 billion of which must be financed through new debt. This includes €89.9 billion in traditional borrowing and an additional €84.4 billion categorized as “special funds” directed toward infrastructure and climate initiatives.
Only with creative accounting has Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) managed to present his deficit-ridden budget as Maastricht-compliant. Total new borrowing amounts to 3.3% of GDP—well above the 3% EU ceiling.
The reclassification of large parts of government spending marks a new chapter in fiscal recklessness. Any meaningful consolidation or structural reform is being kicked down the road.
Between 2025 and 2029, over €850 billion in new debt is planned.
Debt as Coalition Glue
The common denominator uniting the coalition of conservatives and social democrats is one thing: a massive debt package expected to pour over the country in coming years. The projected borrowing would push Germany’s debt-to-GDP ratio from 63% to over 90%, rapidly aligning the country with the debt profiles of Southern Europe.
But the crisis is not a distant threat—it’s already here. Near-daily headlines report fresh deficits from the country’s social insurance funds, and promised relief for citizens—like the cut in electricity taxes—has already been abandoned. Budgeting in Berlin has shifted into permanent crisis mode.
Social Security in Free Fall
While politicians in Berlin bicker over cost-cutting, serious consolidation measures vanish in the trenches between coalition factions. Meanwhile, the foundations of the welfare state are crumbling.
According to the statutory health insurance forecasting board (GKV), the system expects a record €47 billion deficit this year. That number is likely to rise further in tandem with the country’s deepening recession.
Hopes for a job market rebound have all but evaporated, with Germany entering its third year of contraction.
Long-term care insurers are also ringing alarm bells. Their current shortfall is €1.55 billion, and the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds warns it could double by 2026.
The national pension system fares no better. After a €2 billion deficit last year, the government forecasts a €7 billion shortfall for this year.
The exploding social deficits reflect not only failed immigration and demographic policies but also the fallout of a recession-prone economic model. The burden is falling squarely on the workforce—threatening a deepening loss of faith in the welfare system. For many, it’s becoming a bottomless pit, a hamster wheel from which there is no escape.
Workers Shouldering the Burden
The pain threshold for contributors has already been reached. The average social contribution rate now stands at 42.5% of taxable income. Health insurance alone—bloated with bureaucracy, expanded services, and rising staff costs—consumes 17.5%, including a 2.9% surcharge. Another hike is looming in 2025, driven in part by the multi-billion euro hospital transformation fund.
The long-term outlook is grim. Projections by the IGES Institute show pension contributions could rise above 21% by 2035, alongside 3.4% for unemployment insurance and 4.7% for long-term care. The German welfare machine is speeding full throttle toward a debt wall, dragging the federal budget down with it.
A Fiscal Capitulation
The 2026 budget marks a fiscal surrender by the Merz government. It offers no solution to the social insurance crisis.
Germany, once hailed for its sound budgeting and feared as the austerity enforcer during Europe’s last debt meltdown, is losing control over the financing of its bloated welfare state. With social deficits multiplying rapidly, the federal budget becomes a meaningless formality—soon to be patched up with endless supplementary budgets.
The only certainty is that Germany has entered an era of accelerated indebtedness. Political consensus is now bought with the sweet poison of cheap credit. The country edges closer to the political gridlock and debt spirals witnessed in France—where structural reform becomes all but impossible.
* * *
About the author: Thomas Kolbe is a graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.
These Are The Biggest Wartime Buyers Of Russian Fossil Fuels
China followed by India have been the two biggest wartime buyers of Russian fossil fuels, here defined as any oil, coal or gas purchased after Jan. 1, 2023.
Turkey was the third-biggest buyer while the European Union came fourth.
The economic bloc has attempted to wean itself off its dependency on Russian fossil fuels but has struggled to do so after 2022, especially when it comes to natural gas.
At the same time, China, India and Turkey upped their buying in 2022 as Russian oil could be had at reduced rates.
Especially fossil fuel flows to India rose by a lot during that year, while Turkish purchases also soared recently. The biggest EU buyers were Hungary, Slovakia, France and Belgium.
As Voronoi reports,many rounds of sanctions were not enough to diminish Russian fossil fuel revenues due to a mix of global dependency on the major energy exporter and opportunism by non-alligned nations.
After different types of sanctions have been tried out by Western alliances to curb Russia’s export income (often unsuccessfully), U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham on Sunday said that steep tariffs could be another option to pressure countries to abstain from buying Russian oil.
On Sunday, the lawmaker from the state of South Carolina said on Fox News directed towards India, China and Brazil: “We’re going to crush your economy.”
U.S. President Donald Trump had already mentioned this scenario last week on the ocassion of a visit by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, saying that “secondary tariffs” of 100 percent would come into effect for countries trading with Russia if no peace deal was reached within 50 days with Ukraine.
Germany’s Association for Education and Training (VBE) has called for the introduction of comprehensive Islamic religious education in schools across the country, arguing that Muslim students should be offered the same opportunities as their Christian peers.
“We are committed to ensuring that all believers can talk about their faith within schools and receive relevant information about their religion and other religions,” said VBE Federal Chairman Gerhard Brand in comments to the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
He urged political leaders to ensure that schools are equipped with the necessary personnel and materials, and that programs are implemented quickly and expanded over time.
Islamic religious education is currently regulated at the state level, resulting in significant variation. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Islamic religious education is already offered in schools, while in Bavaria, a state-run Islamic studies course is available as an alternative to ethics. However, the Bavarian model does not include cooperation with Islamic religious communities.
According to estimates, around 5.5 million Muslims live in Germany, and at least 580,000 were attending school as of 2020.
Yet only around 81,000 students are currently enrolled in Islamic religious education programs.
Advocates say that expanding access to these classes is essential for integration and for protecting students from extremist influences.
The Turkish Community in Germany also welcomed the initiative but warned of political and structural hurdles.
“Islamic religious education is a must — just like Catholic and Protestant religious education,” said the group’s chairman, Gökay Sofuoglu. He called for educational standards to be aligned at a national level, while acknowledging the constitutional limits imposed by Germany’s federal system.
“We would need a nationwide Islamic cooperation partner. Unfortunately, that isn’t in sight at the moment,” he said.
Sofuoglu stressed that while the state must remain secular, it has a duty to ensure fair and equal treatment of religious communities. “I don’t know how this could be regulated nationwide,” he added.
Stefan Düll, president of the German Teachers’ Association, told the RND that “religious education in public schools, taught by teachers trained and state-certified in Germany, can provide a counterbalance to fundamentalist attitudes — mediated by the family or by fundamentalist preachers online.”
The debate over Islamic education is not just reserved for Germany. As the Muslim population across Europe grows, both support for and opposition to Islamic teachings have risen in multiple European nations.
In April of this year, Remix News reported how, for the first time, Muslim students had become the largest religious group in Vienna’s schools, underlining the incredible demographic transformation taking place in the Austrian city.
According to data obtained from the office of Bettina Emmerling, the city councilor responsible for education, Muslims now account for 41.2 percent of all students, while Christian students fell to 34.5 percent. The trend is only growing, and is accompanied by rising problems, including violence in schools, anti-Semitism, and contempt for women.
“Islam is changing our society in ways we do not want,” warned Christian Klar, a Viennese school principal, last October. He expressed concern over the “rapid Islamization” of Austrian schools, alongside rising violence and anti-Semitic incidents.
In January, it was reported that approximately 200 schools across the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia now teach Islam as part of their curriculum, following the disclosure of official figures after a parliamentary request by the local Vox party.
The inquiry submitted by Vox Andalusia sparked political debate over the extent to which the curriculum is being catered to immigrants and the scope of influence a rising Islamic community now has on institutions across the region.
Late on Thursday, just ahead of the August 1 deadline for tariff renegotiation, President Trump announced a slew of new tariffs, including a 10% global minimum and 15% or higher duties for countries with trade surpluses with the US, forging ahead with his unprecedented effort to reshape international commerce.
First, the silver lining: baseline rates for many trading partners remain unchanged from the duties Trump imposed in April, which may ease investors’ worst fears – although with the S&P sitting at record highs it is difficult to claim anyone had any fears about anything – after the president had previously said they could even double. Yet Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on Canadian goods to 35% threatens to inject fresh tensions into an already strained relationship.
Trump signed the new tariff directive just hours before his prior Aug. 1 deadline for higher tariffs to kick in on scores of trading partners. As Bloomberg reports, most tariffs will take effect after midnight on Aug 7, to allow time for US Customs and Border Protection to make necessary changes to collect the levies.
Taken together, the result will be significantly higher tariffs on goods from almost all US trading partners. The average US tariff rate will rise to 15.2% if rates are implemented as announced, according to Bloomberg Economics, an increase from 13.3%, and significantly higher than the 2.3% it was in 2024, before Trump took office.
Major industrialized economies, including the European Union, Japan and South Korea, accepted 15% duties on their products, while charges on items from Mexico, Canada and China are even bigger.
Today’s announcement notwithstanding, Trump is expected to unveil separate tariffs on imports of pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, critical minerals and other key industrial products in the coming weeks. Other details are also forthcoming, including so-called “rules of origin” to decide which products are transshipped, or routed through another country, and thus would face at least a 40% rate, a senior US official told Bloomberg, adding that a decision will be made in the coming weeks. The senior US official said there is no date yet when revised auto tariff rates would be implemented.
Thursday’s order was signed behind closed doors without the fanfare of Trump’s April tariff rollout, during which he brandished placards with rates during a Rose Garden event. Since then Trump has faced criticism for overpromising on trade deals after he and aides vowed to broker numerous agreements, with at least one pledging “90 deals in 90 days.”
In the end, imports from about 40 countries will face the new 15% rate and roughly a dozen economies’ products will be hit with higher duties, either because they reached a deal or Trump sent them a letter unilaterally setting import taxes. The latter group has the highest goods-trade surpluses with the US.
Some of those were expected, such as a 25% levy on Indian exports that Trump announced this week on social media. Others included charges of 20% on Taiwanese products and 30% on South African goods. Thailand and Cambodia, two countries that were said to have struck a last-minute deal, received a 19% duty, matching rates imposed on regional neighbors including Indonesia and the Philippines. Vietnam’s goods will be tariffed at 20%, according to the WSJ.
Trump’s deals with the EU, Japan and South Korea would lower duties on their vehicle exports to 15% from the general rate of 25%.
In a separate order, Trump followed through on his threat to hike tariffs on exports from Canada, one of the US’s largest trading partners, from 25% to 35% for goods that do not comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. That change excludes goods that are covered under the North American trade pact he negotiated in his first term. That stood in contrast to the 90-day extension Mexico received to negotiate a better agreement. Earlier in the day, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he agreed to extend for 90 days the existing tariffs on Mexican goods. He said a 25% fentanyl tariff, a 25% tariff on cars and a 50% tariff on steel, aluminum and copper would remain in place.
Still other nations are set to be hit with even higher tariffs. Trump has pledged to hike tariffs to 50% on Brazil over its digital policies and legal action against former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally.
The lower 10% and 15% rates are expected to apply to a wide range of mostly smaller- and medium-sized economies that Trump showed little interest in bargaining with one-on-one. He had signaled in recent days there were simply too many countries to cut individualized deals with all of them. Some smaller states, however, were hit with the highest rates, including Syria at 41%, as well as Laos and Myanmar and 40% each, both preferred hubs of Chinese transshipments.
The tiny African nation of Lesotho, however, which had been reeling from Trump’s threat in April to impose a 50% duty, instead received a 15% rate. That change puts the landlocked mountainous kingdom at an advantage against the far larger country that entirely surrounds it, South Africa.
One big exception from this week’s deadline is China, which faces an Aug. 12 deadline for its tariff truce with the US to expire. The Trump administration has signaled that is likely to be extended. No final decision has been made but the recent US-China talks in Stockholm were positive, the official said.
There were signs that Trump’s order took some partners by surprise. Taiwan’s cabinet said in a statement its rate was temporary, and that the US levy is expected to be reduced after more talks, which had been delayed by scheduling conflicts.
The announcement brings to a close, at least for now, months of wait-and-see about how Trump would set his country-based tariffs, which he billed as the centerpiece of his plan to shrink trade deficits and revive American manufacturing. Trump twice delayed his so-called reciprocal tariffs, first announced in April, to allow time for negotiations, first after markets panicked and then as foreign governments bargained to get better terms from the US.
“U.S. customs officials will face challenges implementing the EO, particularly with the different tariff rates now applied across the world,” said Wendy Cutler, a former US trade negotiator. “The seven day breathing period before implementation will help, but importers should expect start up problems at a minimum.”
Some analysts were worried that today’s announcement will spark another round of selling similar to the post-Liberation day dump. “The reality is that we’re still going to see higher tariffs than pre-Liberation Day and we’ll start to see some economic impact of that in the months ahead,” said Shane Oliver, a Sydney-based chief investment officer at AMP Ltd. “There’s still uncertainty about China, Mexico has been delayed by another 90 days and details around sectoral tariffs are also yet to come.”
Others just can’t wait to move on: “With the biggest economies having either already made a deal, had a postponement or been hit with another tariff hike that will probably be eventually negotiated lower (Canada), many traders seem to prefer to keep the focus on US NFP as the next likely catalyst for broad USD movement,” said Sean Callow, a senior analyst in Sydney
“I would have thought 10% baseline tariff was a positive surprise for risk, worth at least a little bounce on Aussie and the like, given Trump’s recent comments have referred to 15% or higher” Callow said, adding that “perhaps the main uncertainty had already been removed on the likes of South Korea, Japan, India and, for now, China.”
Asian stocks came under pressure after Trump announced the new rates, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropping 0.5%, led by losses in South Korea and Taiwan. Futures on the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% while those for European stocks retreated 0.4%. The Taiwan dollar and Korean won led declines in currency markets, while the Swiss franc edged lower after the nation’s products were hit with a 39% charge, one of the few nations that saw its rate go up. The Canadian dollar held steady in the face of higher rates.
Escobar: Chinese Foxes, American Sharks, & European Rodents
Authored by Pepe Escobar,
The “BRICS lab” has a non-stop, ever-adapting creative spirit. Beats Tariff dementia everytime…
The fourth plenary session of the Communist Party of China has been scheduled by the Politburo for October (no precise data announced; probably four days during the second half of October). That’s when Beijing will be deliberating the lineaments of its next five-year plan. The plenum should be attended by over 370 Central Committee members of the party elite.
Why this is so crucial? Because China is the undisputed top target, alongside top BRICS members, of the new universal “law” devised by the Empire of Chaos: I Tariff, Therefore I Exist. So the next five-year plan will have to take into consideration all vectors deriving from the new “law”.
The plenum will take place a few weeks after Beijing stages a grand parade to celebrate the end of WWII; Vladimir Putin is one of Xi’s guests of honor.
Moreover, the plenum will be right before the annual APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit, starting October 31 in Seoul. This summit carries a window of opportunity for a direct, face to face Trump-Xi meeting – which the Circus Ringmaster, for all his posture and tergiversations, is actively pursuing.
The plenum will have to carefully weigh how a de facto trade, tech and geopolitical war between the US and China will only get more incandescent. As much as Made in China 2025 revealed itself to be a staggering success – maximum pressure from Trump 1.0 notwithstanding – new Chinese wave tech decisions taken in 2025 will define the road map ahead on everything from AI to quantum computing, biotechnology and controlled nuclear fusion.
I am so thrilled to be your lackey
Everything that matters on trade and tech will be decided between the two economic superpowers. By now it’s clear that a potential third actor, the EU, has simply committed serial suicide.
Let’s start with the China-EU summit on July 24 – which featured, among other niceties, Beijing protocol deigning to send at best a lowly tourist bus to greet the European delegation, and Xi Jinping for all practical purposes ending the summit before schedule in a message widely interpreted across the Global South as “we have no time to waste with you clowns”.
That’s exactly what the Circus Ringmaster wanted.
Then came the EU-US get together – which sealed, in spectacular fashion, the already accelerated phase of Europe’s Century of Humiliation.
It starts with Trump de facto erasing Russia from the EU’s energy future. Brussels has been forced – Mafioso “offer you can’t refuse”- style, to buy $250 billion of overpriced US energy a year, every year, for the next 3 years. And in the process be slapped with 15% tariffs – and like it.
So smashing Nord Stream 2 – an operation carried out by the previous D.C. autopen administration – had a clear imperial purpose from the start.
On top of it, the EU must pay for its – already lost – war in Ukraine by buying unlimited amounts of overpriced US weapons to the tune of 5% of GDP. That’s what Trump imposed NATO to impose on the EU. Follow the money.
Yet whatever the “deal” advertised with a profusion of superlatives by the Circus Ringmaster, the numbers don’t add up.
The EU spent a hefty 375 billion euros on energy in 2024; only 76 billion euros of these were paid to the US.
That means that the EU would have to buy three times more US energy over the next three years. And only LNG Made in USA: no Norway, for that matter, which sells cheaper pipeline gas.
Defying reality – and obviously not put in check by meek European mainstream media – the toxic Medusa in Brussels vociferated that US LNG is cheaper than Russian pipeline gas.
Moscow is not breaking a sweat – because its major clients are all across Eurasia. As for the Americans, they will not divert all their exports to the EU – as European refineries can only handle a limited supply of American shale oil. Moreover, there’s no way EUrocrats can force European energy companies to buy American.
So to round up their figures they will have to buy from somewhere else. That would be Norway – and even Russia, assuming the Russians will be interested.
Trump 2.0 was clever enough to “exempt” some sectors from the tariff dementia, such as aircraft and aircraft parts, semiconductors, critical chemicals and some agriculture. Of course: these are all part of strategic supply chains.
The only thing that really mattered overall was to lock up Europe as a massive buyer of American energy and force them to invest in US infrastructure and the industrial-military complex.
And that points to the only way to “escape” the tariff dementia: when faced with an “offer you can’t refuse”, you don’t refuse; you take it, like it, and offer all sorts of investment in the US. Ancient empires used to force their “partners” to pay tribute. Welcome to the 21st century version.
After all, what does Europe have to offer as leverage? Nothing. No European company on the global Tech Top Ten. Not even an European search engine; or globally successful smartphone; or operating system; or streaming platform; or cloud infrastructure. Not to mention no top semiconductor producer. And only one car maker among the global best-selling Top Ten.
All aboard “directed improvisation”
If the US sharks gave the EU rodents literally nothing, foxy China was benign enough to give just a little bit of something: a blah blah blah on climate change.
The end result – for the whole world to see: the EU as a sorry player carrying less than zero strategic autonomy on the global chessboard. It is royally ignored on the Empire’s Forever Wars – from Ukraine to West Asia. And it lectures Beijing – in Beijing – (italics mine) when it is totally dependent on Chinese raw materials, industrial equipment and complex supply chains for green and digital tech.
Yuen Yuen Ang, from Singapore, is a professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She may need to tow the – strict – lines of US academia, which is exceptionalist by definition. But at least she’s capable of some valuable insights.
For instance: “We’re all suffering from an attention deficit. We used to read books, then articles, then essays, then blogs, and now it’s further reduced to tweets of 280 characters. So you can imagine what sorts of messages fit in that tiny space. It has to be simplistic.”
That cuts to the heart of how the Circus Ringmaster is conducting his foreign policy; ruling via an accumulation of nonsensical posts.
Yuen Yuen reaches more serious territory when she comments on how China “wants to retire an old economic model that was highly dependent on low-cost exports, construction and real estate. It wants hi-tech, innovation-driven development.”
That’s exactly what will be discussed at the heart of the plenum in Beijing in October.
Yuen Yuen also notes how “back in the 1980s and 1990s”, China could “imitate the late industrialisation model in East Asia. Today, there aren’t many role models. China itself has become a trailblazer, and other countries are seeing it as a role model.”
Hence her concept of “directed improvisation” – being conducted by the Beijing leadership. They know the preferred final destination, but still need to test all possible paths. The same, by the way, also applies to BRICS – via what I defined as the “BRICS lab”, where all sorts of models are being tested. What matters, above all, is a non-stop, ever-adapting creative spirit.
Beats Tariff dementia everytime.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.
Customized Timepieces From Rolex, Breitling, Tudor, Bremont, & Omega
In the W.O.E. community, military “unit watches” are at the heart of modern watch culture. A unit watch is a timepiece that is customized by the manufacturer for members of a specific unit or organization. Customizations generally include the unit’s insignia on the dial and/or an engraving on the caseback. Unit watches are generally private purchases, paid for by the individual operator, and not issued or purchased by the government.
Given our position at W.O.E., I think I can safely say that no one on this planet knows more about unit watches. Whether this is something to be proud of or not, you can decide. Today, we take a look at a few of my favorite unit watches from some of Swiss watchmaking’s greatest names.
Since I launched W.O.E., I have noticed an uptick in unit watches. What was once reserved primarily for elite aviation and SpecOps units has trickled down to law enforcement, conventional military units, and intelligence organizations. If I can be so arrogant as to suggest it, W.O.E. has had a significant impact in bringing awareness and increasing unit watch adoption. (End Humble Brag – Break)
You will notice that most of the watches in this Dispatch come from major Swiss watch brands: IWC, Breitling, Tudor, and Omega. Smaller brands like Christopher Ward, Sangin, Pagoda, Elliot Brown, and many others are making significant headway in this space. We may have to make another list. Stay tuned.
US Army Delta Force Breitling Superocean
Starting off with a bang, in 2009/2010, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, AKA Delta Force, commissioned a custom Breitling Superocean. The subtle unit insignia is printed on the dial at nine o’clock, and “Oppressors Beware” is engraved on the side of the case. 50 total were made. In my discussions with operators from the era, these watches were sometimes worn on operations, but they were generally reserved for time off and low-intensity training. Many former operators continue to wear the watches to this day as mementos of their service with the Army’s Tier One SpecOps unit.
Unit members in the late 2000s experienced some of the most sustained combat of any SpecOps operating in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in other countries as a part of the Global War on Terror (GWOT). The fact that an operator took the time to step back and commemorate this unit with a custom watch is special and indicative of the roles of timepieces as mementos among the military elite. All of the examples of the Delta Breitling we have seen are well worn after years of hard use, the way it should be.
Australian SAS Omega Seamaster
We have covered Omega’s modern Unit Watch program extensively, but Omega’s relationship with intelligence and SOF units goes back decades. In the early 2000s, Omega produced several unit watches for the British Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS). By 2012, the Australian SAS wanted in on the action and commissioned an Omega Seamaster with the SAS Winged Dagger over the outline of Australia on the caseback. The case back is also engraved with the member’s year of selection, his PMKEYS (regimental number), and “Happy Wanderer”, the unit’s marching song.
The watches were again commissioned in 2016. The first batch could be purchased by both serving and former SASR operators, the latter only by those still serving. According to former SASR operator Andy White, the Omega Seamaster was chosen specifically due to SASR’s dive capability and operators spending so much time above and below the water’s surface.
SGT Diddams MG, a close friend of White, was KIA in Afghanistan in 2012. In January 2021, while his family moved from Melbourne to Perth, his watch, an irreplaceable heirloom, was stolen from their car. It’s identical to the one pictured, with the only differences being the selection date and his number: 95/8239384. Please keep an eye out for the watch.
Italian “Polipetto” Rolex Sea-Dweller
When it comes to unit watches, Rolex is the gold standard, having produced some of the most sought-after and collectable references (read expensive). While the British SAS Submariner and Explorer IIs are probably the most well-known, there are several more obscure references, and one of our favorites is the so-called “Polipetto”, a customized 16600 Sea-Dweller made for the diving branch of the Polizia di Stato or Italian National Police.
Part of the watch’s charm is the unit’s insignia, a stylized octopus, which is printed on the dial at nine o’clock, along with a custom caseback engraving. Among the most coveted and collectible modern Rolex sport watches, only 78 examples were produced, and of those, only 28 bear the service number of the individual diver on the caseback. In addition, the 16600 is perhaps the last great Sea-Dweller, with a 40mm case, no lame “Rolex” text on the rehaut, an aluminum bezel insert, and even lug holes on some examples. Slap an octopus insignia on there, and it’s easy to see how one Polipetto example hammered for 165,100 Swiss Francs (around $207k) in 2024.
Canadian Tudor Pelagos 39
Tudor is arguably the leader in modern unit watches, having produced customized versions of their tool watch line for everyone from the 75th Ranger Regiment to the US Secret Service Counter Assault Team (CAT, AKA Hawkeye). It is difficult to narrow these down to a “favorite”, but for the purposes of this Dispatch, I’m going to go with the custom Pelagos 39 developed for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Emergency Response Team (ERT).
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) is Canada’s federal tactical unit tasked with CT, high-risk arrests, and hostage rescue, a loose equivalent to FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT).
The watch contains an ERT crest on the dial, which represents the original teams consisting of six members and one team leader (7 maple leaves), a Cavalry sword, and a .308 rifle. The coolest part of this watch is the lume; the maple leaves are not lumed, which results in a cool contrast with the rifle and saber standing out. A total of 83 were produced and delivered in early 2025.
UK’ Special Reconnaissance Regiment’ Rolex Submariner
There are military watches, and then there are modern legends. This Rolex Submariner, engraved with the insignia of the UK’s Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), falls squarely into the latter category. The emblem says it all: a Spartan helmet intersected by a sword, surrounded by smaller Spartan helmets, a nod to a unit that doesn’t seek recognition and rarely grants it. This was produced in 2013, and Rolex ceased these unit-specific customizations not long after, handing the torch to Tudor, which continued the tradition of partnering with elite units.
Watches like this SRR Submariner and the famed SAS Explorer II are among the last of their kind. Military-commissioned Rolexes with real operational provenance are increasingly rare. Last year, one was auctioned off by Sotheby’s for a whopping 36k British pounds, which amounts to over $46k in real money (at the time).
Will Rolex ever restart its unit watch program? It’s hard to say, but we would love to see it.
French Olympic Omega Seamaster Diver 300
We have covered the new Omega Seamaster unit watches at length, so we won’t beat a dead horse here. There have been some great unit watches developed, many of them not seen by the wider public or posted on social media.
That said, there is one that stands out. Omega produced a Seamaster for the three elite French law enforcement units tasked with security for the event: GIGN, RAID, and BRI. This is one of the few examples I have seen of a unit watch developed for three separate units, which makes it stand out.
Omega was the official timekeeper of the 2024 Olympics, and while marketing stuff is fun, a GIGN/RAID/BRI unit Seamaster is what really gets us going. Beyond the insignia on the case back, this is effectively the same watch as the one utilized by US Secret Service officers during the recent assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump and a unit-specific model created for the Danish Frogman Corps.
US Navy’s IWC Top Gun
When it comes to aviation squadron watches, IWC Schaffhausen is king. There are numerous notable IWC squadron watches, but arguably the most well-known is the brand’s partnership with the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (the real TOPGUN). But interestingly, this didn’t start as a unit watch, but a commercial endeavor.
In 2007, IWC entered a commercial relationship with the US Navy, becoming an official licensee and beginning its line of TOP GUN watches. Featuring the logo of the 1980s hit movie of the same name, the series of watches became a staple of IWC’s offerings with licensing fees directly funding morale, welfare, and recreation programs for US sailors, retirees, and their families.
This prepared the foundation of a more organic relationship, IWC’s foray into custom squadron watches. Having seen watches from the TOP GUN commercial line, pilots from the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School reached out to IWC to investigate the feasibility of making a unit watch for the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor (SFTI) program.
The result was the 2018 release of the IWC’s first custom military piece: the Edition ‘SFTI’ in both a Pilot’s Watch Mark XVIII and a Pilot’s Watch Chronograph. These exclusive watches continue to be made today, but can only be purchased by TOPGUN graduates, the way it should be.
US-Afghan Special Mission Wing Bremont
The Special Mission Wing, AKA “the triple seven,” was an Afghan unit trained and mentored by Americans for air lift assets, most notably the Russian-built Mi-17. This watch was produced by Bremont for the American servicemen supporting that unit. Bremont’s custom unit watch program has produced some unique timepieces for UK, US, and Australian SOF and aviation units, and was a leader until the recent redirection of the company under CEO Davide Cerrato.
The insignia at twelve o’clock is taken from the Special Operations Joint Task Force – Afghanistan insignia, while each of the numbers around the dial is representative of the Dari script. The 7 (V) is flanked by two “ghost” 7s representing the 777 Special Mission Wing (VVV). The helicopter is the Mi-17V5, which was purchased by the US government for the Government of Afghanistan and flown by both NATO and Afghan crews. Finally, the Cyrillic underneath the Bremont prop is a Russian transliteration of Bremont and is a tribute to the Russian heritage of the Mi-17.
We are big fans of “Arabic dials” (in this case Dari), and this is a cool piece. Unfortunately, the 777 SMW was disbanded after the US pulled out. Many of the pilots made it to freedom, where they are working to get their families out as well.
UK Special Air Service Breitling Avenger
I have a hypothesis that unit watch culture in the United States Special Operations Forces originated with our cousins across the pond in the UK. In 2003/2004, approximately six years before Delta Force’s unit Breitling, the UK’s Special Air Service (SAS) ordered a customized unit watch, a Breitling Avenger Seawolf with the SAS insignia at nine o’clock.
We spoke with former SAS Melvyn Downes about this piece, who said around 200 were produced. Only serving 22 SAS operators could purchase the watch and all were individually numbered. Some active members of SAS sold them to former members. Given the amount of cross training and deployments between UKSF and Delta, I assess with medium confidence the Delta Breitling was born out of this relationship.
French Marine Nationale (MN) Tudor Pelagos FXD
In contrast to many of the watches included here, which are small batch custom versions of core models within each brand’s standard civilian catalog, the Tudor Pelagos FXD owes its very existence to an elite military unit. Leaning into a partnership that started in the 1950s, the Commando Hubert, the French Navy’s elite maritime special operations unit, asked Tudor to develop a new dive watch for the specific use case of its combat swimmers.
With integrated “fixed” lugs and a bidirectional countdown bezel, the Commando Hubert version of the watch has only two lines of text at six o’clock: “Pelagos” and “200m” as well as a unique dive strap and custom caseback. Soon after the watch was created, Tudor released the civilian FXD in 2021 to massive fanfare among the Use Your Tools crowd, with the also-sexy black variant coming in 2023.
Over the past couple of years, the Pelagos has become a popular platform for other unit watch projects, but what is even cooler about the FXD is that the watch itself was organically developed for SpecOps end users.
US SEAL Team Six Tudor Pelagos FXD
When Tudor released the “Black FXD” in September 2023, we published a Dispatch on the background of how the original Blue FXD was developed in partnership with SEAL Team Six. While we sought approval to tell the story prior to release, it gained more traction than expected, and we took it down at the request of those involved.
Fast forward to today, and the cat is very much out of the bag. The watch has been posted on social media, seen at public events, and even discussed at length by a former member of the Command during a recent episode of the Unsubscribe podcast.
Most recently, the watch was seen on the wrist of former Gold Squadron member, Fleet Master Chief Dave Isom, when he took over as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman (SEAC) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In contrast to the commercially available version, the Gold Squadron FXD has a simpler “two-line” dial with “PELAGOS” executed in gold and “660 ft”. Most visibly, the hook and loop strap boasts a gold center stripe, in contrast to the regular red stripe. Each squadron has its own version with the squadron insignia on the caseback. Very cool.
Final Thoughts – Should You Collect These Watches?
Decades from now, the individuals who earned these watches will have all moved on in their lives and into retirement, and their unit watches will be among the few lasting, and wearable, reminders of their service. What makes these timepieces special is that they can’t be bought; they must be earned.
That said, inevitably, some unit watches do end up at auction, fetching upwards of $30-50k on the open market in many cases. Watches that were originally designed and intended as keepsakes for a select few can now be purchased by the highest bidder.
While it is unfortunate that some practitioners choose to part with these meaningful timepieces, I also understand that life circumstances change, and the astronomical secondary market pricing can be irresistible. That said, it is a shame that those practitioner’s great-grandchildren won’t be able to treasure the watches worn by their ancestors.
For collectors, I understand the attraction, but I also think it is a little bit strange to wear a modern watch like this that you have no direct relationship with. No, I wouldn’t go as far as to say it is “stolen valor,” but there is something about it that just doesn’t feel right. From a collector’s standpoint, there is a difference in my mind between new “unit watches” and vintage military-issued watches. As the decades roll on, maybe my feelings will change.
For me, when a watch like this comes up for auction, the life is sucked out of it. I am naive about the auction world, but from the outside looking in, it appears to be champagne and cocaine, a part of the watch industry I just don’t relate to. The fact that an earned watch can be acquired by the highest bidder, who almost certainly isn’t the kind of person who would have earned the watch in the first place, just doesn’t pass the smell test.
That said, I believe in the basic principles of capitalism and do not fault anyone involved. We see the world as it is, not as we feel it should be.
Trump’s Russia Sanctions Ultimatum Will Blow Up In America’s Face: Jeffrey Sachs
Economist and longtime adviser to the UN Jeffrey Sachs has issued a scathing critique of President Trump’s decision to unleash yet more anti-Russia sanctions, giving Moscow just ten days to negotiate for peace with Ukraine or else the new punitive measures will go into effect.
Sachs called the new policy “dangerous” and a sign that the Trump administration is plagued by contradictions and lack of a coherent strategy for ending the war, despite constant early boasting that Trump would rapidly achieve peace. The ‘secondary sanctions’ aimed primarily at those nations still trading with Russia are doomed to be ineffective anyway, the Colombia University professor pointed out.
“If the sanctions are actually applied, they are an escalation of the conflict, and therefore very dangerous. I do not believe that they will be effective,” he said in an interview with Russian media.
“For example, I do not believe they will stop Russia from selling oil, gas, and other commodities to Asian markets. Yet, provocations and escalation often have unpredictable negative effects, and that could be true here as well,” he added.
The new restrictions are likely to backfire regardless, as they “could expose” the “incompetence” or even “accelerate the breakup” of US-led geopolitical and economic blocs.
“This is, in short, the wrong approach. We need diplomacy and negotiation to get to the root causes of the conflict, and solve them, not unworkable ultimatums based on the idea of an unconditional ceasefire,” Sachs added.
He further highlighted the West’s inability to acknowledge and come to terms with the real underlying causes of Ukraine war, such as historic NATO expansion east, the sham Minsk accords, or the coup events of 2014.
“Instead, the Western powers now demand an unconditional ceasefire. Russia will not agree to this, nor will a new round of US sanctions compel Russia to agree to this,” Sachs emphasized.
But top Trump admin officials are defending the freshly issued ultimatum given to the Kremlin. For example, White House special envoy to Russia and Ukraine Keith Kellogg has claimed the relative ineffectiveness of current sanctions thus far has largely been due to weak enforcement from the West.
However, Kellogg has asserted that “Putin will start feeling the pressure not just from within his military, but also from the oligarchs and internally” and that the sanctions will “start to bite”.
The Senate voted on July 30 to reject two resolutions that would have blocked arms sales to Israel in response to concerns over civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip since Israeli forces began military action against the Hamas terror group.
Senators rejected two motions introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that would have stopped the export of over 5,000 bombs and guidance kits and 20,000 firearms. The resolutions failed by 73–24 and 70–27, respectively, in the 100-member chamber.
Sanders, who aligns with the Democrats, said on the evening of July 30 before the vote: “American taxpayer dollars are being used to starve children, bomb schools, kill civilians, and support the cruelty of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his criminal ministers. That, Mr. President, is why I have brought these two resolutions of disapproval to block offensive arms sales to Israel.”
Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), who voted against both motions, called the resolutions misguided, and said before the vote that if they were adopted, it would “reinstate the failed policies of the Biden administration, and would abandon America’s closest ally in the Middle East.”
Risch said that the situation in the Gaza Strip and the impact on its residents was the fault of Hamas, who he said “use the people of Gaza as human shields.”
“These are not good people, and it is in the interest of America and the world to see this terrorist group destroyed,” he said.
Israel began its military operations against Hamas after the terror group’s deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, when Hamas militants killed about 1,200 civilians in Israel and kidnapped 251. According to the Israeli government website, 49 of those who were abducted that day are still being held in captivity. One additional hostage is still being held in Gaza, who has been held since 2014.
The Gaza Strip’s Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health reported that more than 60,000 people have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in these casualty figures, and The Epoch Times cannot verify their accuracy.
Throughout the conflict, Israel has said that it tries to avoid harming the civilian population and only targets Hamas terrorists.
Palestinian Statehood
In recent weeks, a number of Western nations have indicated they plan to recognize a Palestinian state.
On July 25, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would formally announce the decision to recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly in September, citing the need to end the Israel–Hamas war.
Macron called for an immediate cease-fire and the release of all hostages, as well as for Hamas to disarm.
“Finally, the State of Palestine must be built, its viability ensured, and, by accepting its demilitarization and fully recognizing Israel, it must contribute to the security of all in the Middle East,” he said.
Four days later, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the UK will recognize a Palestinian state by September, unless Israel agrees to a cease-fire and to improve humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.
Starmer said such a state is “the inalienable right of the Palestinian people,” and that Palestinian statehood is essential for Israel’s long-term security.
The following day, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country would recognize Palestinian statehood at the U.N. in September if the Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank, made reforms including holding an election in 2026 and refraining from militarization.
Carney said that Canada “will always steadfastly support Israel’s existence as an independent state in the Middle East, living in peace and security” and that “any path to lasting peace for Israel also requires a viable and stable Palestinian state.”
Some 146 U.N. member states already recognize a Palestinian state,according to the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X on July 24 that such recognition would “reward terror” and risk the creation of what he described as “another Iranian proxy.”
“A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel—not to live in peace beside it,“ Netanyahu said. ”Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel.”
