The fossil fuel industry is raking in big profits thanks to President Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran, and a new analysis finds that it's plugging a sizable chunk of these gains into propaganda. A report published by Clean Creatives on Wednesday reveals that fossil fuel firms across the world have "engaged 802 advertising and PR…
Page A4From§Eachthe early evening edition — 27 September 2026
Ambassador confirms Trump offered to sell weapons to the country Trump's own strategy names as the threat
As it ran on the front
On the fourteenth of September the wire carried a throwaway line: NATO was a side quest, the president had already turned toward China, a summit with Xi Jinping still sitting on the calendar for later that month.
That's the going rate for scrutiny when the buyer is a Gulf monarchy.…
…(cont) Then the twenty-fourth. Nicholas Burns, who used to hold the ambassador's chair in Beijing, went on CBS and said the thing people watching this had been circling: he feared the administration was going soft on Xi Jinping. He didn't get an argument back. He got an answer.
Friday the twenty-fifth, Ambassador David Perdue told CNBC that Xi had personally assured Trump he'd cut off aid to Iran — proof, if you wanted it, that the pressure campaign was landing, that Beijing was playing ball. Read alone, that's a win for the administration's Iran policy. It is not the whole thing Perdue said.
Sunday the twenty-seventh, the New York Times and the New York Post both ran the rest of it: Trump hadn't only asked China to drop Iran. He'd asked Xi if he'd like to buy American weapons.
Sit with the order of it. Burns wasn't guessing at a scandal. He was describing a posture, and the posture turned out to have a price tag attached.
None of this is buried. It's just never added up out loud twice in the same room. Three senators want an itemized bill for what Riyadh gets. No senator has asked for one on what Xi was offered, because there's nothing to subpoena when the White House's position is that the offer doesn't exist. The ambassador is on the record. The country we're told to fear got the sales pitch that Saudi Arabia had to fight Congress for.
“You spend a week making senators sweat over a $5 billion sale to the Saudis, cost breakdown and all, and then it turns out your own ambassador told CNBC the boss offered to sell the actual store to the guy the Pentagon's strategy paper names as the threat. That's not soft on China. That's a clearance sale with a "Beijing is our adversary" sign still hanging in the window. Burns didn't call it — he just watched it happen two days later and had the bad luck to be right.”
“Look, an ambassador characterizing a conversation is not the same as a formal offer — the White House was crystal clear there's no deal on the table, and frankly a president floating options with a counterpart is called diplomacy, not — wait, did I just say the president offered weapons to China and call that a good thing? That's not — let me start over.”
Earlier in this story
- Treasury gives Iran two weeks to run out of trade; envoy blames Iran for wanting it up front. By Chip · the early bird edition, 27 September 2026
- Trump's ambassador blames Iran's 'everything up front' demand; it doesn't appear in Iran's own transcript. By Lou · the noon edition, 27 September 2026
- Trump rejects Iran's offer, brags about the three-hour meeting anyway, has Rubio call Iran miscalculating. By Lou · the coffee break edition, 27 September 2026
- President rejects Iran's seven-day offer to reopen the Strait and reschedules the bombing for after the midterms; his U.N. ambassador goes on Fox to say the $6.48 diesel came from Ukraine By Lou · the breakfast edition, 27 September 2026
The receipts
A UN fact-finding mission has reported that two US airstrikes which killed at least 178 civilians in Iran constitute war crimes. Plus: Andy Burnham says he is “determined” to hit net zero by 2050, Sweden’s left-of-centre coalition wins the general election, Netanyahu is pushing to strip IDF critics of their citizenship, and the…
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) announced Thursday that four Republicans, including him, have signed the Epstein Files II discharge petition and expressed confidence it will pass the House. The news comes after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) sent lawmakers home for a seven-week recess ahead of the midterm elections.
President Trump asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping if he was interested in purchasing American weapons, according to US ambassador to China David Perdue.
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Senate Democrats, minus Fetterman, urge Hegseth to provide receipt for Iran war costsAll of the Democrats in the Senate — excluding Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman — signed an open letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, pressing him to give Congress a cost breakdown of the war in Iran. The letter, although largely symbolic, reflects the frustration of many Democrats in Congress over what they perceive as a...
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Tillis supports Hegseth impeachment resolution: 'He needs to go'Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who voted to confirm Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is renewing his call for President Trump to fire the Pentagon chief after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned. “He needs to go, whether it’s impeachment or the most expedient route — just the president to replace him — would be great,”
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Pentagon No. 3 frustrates senators in closed-door briefing on Iran war, Trump defense strategyDemocratic and Republican lawmakers alike emerged Thursday from a closed-door briefing frustrated by what they said was a lack of clear answers from Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby on the Trump administration’s National Defense Strategy and the ongoing Iran war. The briefing with the Senate Armed Services Committee started off…
President Trump made the offer to Xi Jinping, China’s leader, said David Perdue, the ambassador to China. The White House later said the U.S. had no plans for such a sale.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fl.), the GOP's gubernatorial nominee in Florida and a close ally of President Trump, has removed certain mentions of the president's name on his website's new layout. In the old layout, a banner at the top of Donalds web page said: “Chip in to Support Trump Endorsed Byron Donalds”
Iran's president used his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday to turn Washington's decades-old assertion that his country is the world's leading terrorist state on its head by accusing the US—which has killed and wounded tens of thousands of Iranians during President Donald Trump's illegal war of choice—of…
Nicholas Burns, the former U.S. ambassador to China, joins CBS News with his take on the Trump-Xi summit and on diplomatic relations with the U.S. adversary.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov attacked the US and its western allies as "warmongers" in a tirade at the UN where he sought to drive a wedge between the US and Europe and justify his country's own bloody invasion of Ukraine.
This amounts to more than 80 trades per market day for the president in his first 17 months back in office.
EXCLUSIVE — Former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher has changed his campaign slogan to remove a reference to President Donald Trump. Hatcher, who ousted incumbent Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) in Tennessee’s August primary, ran as a “Pro-Trump”
Matt Bell said he initially supported Trump's policies but now feels he and other farmers were "sold a bill of goods" that there was a plan to "put America's farmers and ranchers first."
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that with seven weeks to go until Election Day, it was time for lawmakers to "go home to their districts and make the case to the American people"—a day earlier than scheduled. But with the US public overwhelmingly disapproving of President Donald Trump's war in Iran and demanding…
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is weighing whether or not to "annihilate" Iran in a renewed effort to end the illegal 201-day US-Israeli war of choice, musings that came on the heels of a report by United Nations experts who said the United States likely committed war crimes during earlier attacks on the Middle East nation.…
The US targeted “clearly identifiable” civilian sites in Minab and Lamerd, killing over 100 children, the UN found.
U.N.-commissioned rights experts say there are "reasonable grounds" to believe the U.S. committed war crimes with strikes that killed scores of Iranian civilians.
Delegates from Russia and China had sharp words for the United States’ war with Iran and operations related to Cuba during their Saturday speeches before the United Nations General Assembly. Russia’s foreign affairs minister Sergey Lavrov and China’s Vice President Han Zheng each sided with the Iranian regime over the Trump…
President Trump criticized the media on Saturday following reports that GOP Rep. Byron Donalds (Fla.) removed several references to the president’s endorsement of his gubernatorial bid from his campaign website. The president slammed this reporting as “Another Fake Story”
Matt Bell has been farming in North Carolina for more than half his life. He voted for President Trump but said farmers are "fighting for survival" as they combat rising prices.
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
U.S. military lays groundwork for potential action around CubaSome units would "possibly [be] needed in 90-120 days," according to an internal Army message reviewed by CBS News.
A trio of progressive US senators this week introduced legislation to block a $5 billion conventional weapons sale to Saudi Arabia while also pushing for the release of more details about President Donald Trump's proposed nuclear cooperation agreement with the Middle Eastern kingdom. "The United States must not send thousands of…
The Republican lawmaker cited incidents like the US’s elementary school massacre in Minab, Iran, early in the war.
A recently published economic analysis estimates that President Donald Trump’s illegal war with Iran has cost US consumers an average of $1,760 per household—including a total of $121 billion in extra spending on energy alone—since the conflict began less than 8 months ago. The war, which Trump launched without congressional…
The United States is demanding that China cease any aid to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the U.S. ambassador claimed Beijing is playing ball. Ambassador to China David Perdue told CNBC in a Friday interview that President Donald Trump has communicated this request for weeks but revisited the issue during Chinese President Xi…
· NATO is a side quest. Trump has already moved on to China from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· The United Nations Security Council has resoundingly rejected a United States bid to extend a global arms embargo on Iran. In a Security Council vote, United States only got support from the Dominican from the morgue, 14 Aug 2020
· U.S. Threatens New Economic War on Iran by Targeting China & Tehran's Other Top Trading Partners from the morgue, 25 Aug 2026
· Where Trump’s 2026 endorsement record stands after primary season from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· Hegseth on "devastation" to Iran's capabilities from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· Trump admits Iran war will not end before midterms from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· Iran War Trump Said Would Be Quick Has Now Lasted 6 Months With 'No End In Sight' from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026
· CBO Finds Trump's Iran War Has Already Cost Nearly $40 Billion—And That's a 'Conservative' Estimate from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Massie Files Impeachment Articles Against Hegseth for Illegal Iran War, Boat Murders from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Massie launches effort to impeach Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Tillis urges Trump to fire Hegseth over 'inept management' of military from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Tillis renews calls for Hegseth’s firing after Driscoll’s departure: ‘I have never witnessed more inept management’ from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Massie names Epstein 'coconspirators,' discusses new Epstein files legislation from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· Read Thomas Massie’s eight impeachment charges against Pete Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Fake Republican midterm convention site still redirects to Epstein files from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· Trump says he has a ‘big decision’ coming up on Iran: ‘Do I want to go in and annihilate them’ from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Fox News Poll: 71% think Trump administration lacks plan to end Iran war from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Iran recently downed at least 2 American drones, officials say from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Big Oil Stocks Surged Due to Iran War—and New Filings Show How President Trump Cashed In from the morgue, 27 Aug 2026
· Live updates: Energy secretary downplays rising gas prices as US, Iran trade strikes from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· U.S. Strike on Iranian School May Have Been War Crime, U.N. Report Says from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· UN investigators conclude ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe certain US strikes in Iran were war crimes from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· US Condemned for 'War Crimes' After Bombing of Wedding Party in Iran from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· US investigating if missile hit Iranian wedding ceremony, killing 4 from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· Trump says he has a ‘big decision coming up’ on Iran from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· White House issues explosive response to UN-backed report claiming US committed war crimes against world’s No.1 sponsor of terror, Iran from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Human rights experts: 'Reasonable grounds' to believe US committed war crimes with Iran strikes from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Iran downed at least 2 American drones in recent days, U.S. officials say from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Iran: Account of US Air Force colonel's rescue 'fictional' from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Consumer Burden of Trump Iran War Exceeds $100 Billion as Oil Prices Pass $100 a Barrel from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· 'A Serious and Alarming Threat': US Bombing, Blockade Deepen Iran Medical Crisis from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· Consumer Confidence Hits Lowest Level in Months as US Faces 'Trump's Reckless Tariffs and War With Iran' from the morgue, 25 Aug 2026
· U.S. Air Force officer rescued from Iran speaks for the first time to 60 Minutes from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026
· Rep. Thomas Massie forcing vote on Pete Hegseth's impeachment from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Massie saying Johnson is sending the House home early to prevent Hegseth impeachment from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· ‘You’re Elected to Fight and Kill the Other Side’: How Congress Lost Its Way from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· Army combat veteran challenging Mike Lawler calls Hegseth national security 'hazard,' backs impeachment from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· Former Air Force secretary says he 'couldn't serve' in Trump administration from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· Former Air Force secretary: Hegseth's Pentagon 'dysfunctional' from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· House Republicans split over leaving Washington early for campaign trail from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· 'How are we gonna get through this?' Many Americans are struggling as prices rise from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· Trump's Top Oil Stocks Have Made Him Up to $4.4 Million Richer During Iran War: Analysis from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· 'Trump Did It!': At $5.85 a Gallon, Diesel Price Hits All-Time High in US Thanks to War on Iran from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· Gas prices reach Labor Day high amid Iran war from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026
· Trump Hammered Over Iran War That Drove Gas Prices Above $4 Per Gallon Every Day in August for First Time Ever from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026
· Warsh under pressure as Fed weighs rate hike from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Inflation held at 3.4% in August in consumer price index, creating tough choice for Warsh Fed from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026
· Warsh indicates Fed could raise rates to cool inflation from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026
· Key U.S. Bond Rate Near 20-Year High as Oil Prices Keep Climbing from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· 10-year Treasury yield hits highest level since 2007, oil surges above $105 as Fed expected to hike interest rates from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Benchmark mortgage rate hits 14-month high as bond yields keep rising from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· Benchmark mortgage rate hits highest mark in over a year from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Goldman Sachs warns oil prices could hit $120 as U.S. fuel costs surge from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026
· GOP Rep Thomas Massie introduces 8 articles of impeachment against War Secretary Pete Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Republican Rep. Massie moves to impeach Defense Secretary Hegseth over Iran war from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Thomas Massie Forces Vote To Impeach Pete Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Pete Hegseth Faces Growing Criticism as War With Iran Rolls On from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Hegseth Quietly Extends Middle East Troop Deployments Into 2027 as Iran War Drags On from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Costco imposes purchase limits on motor oil, hikes prices by nearly double from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.