News, Rumors and Opinions Friday 6-26-2026
KTFA:
Clare: The Prime Minister told an American journalist: American companies will be given priority in investment.
6/24/2026
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced that American companies will be given priority in investing in Iraq, during an interview with American journalist Hadley Gamble.
Gamble tweeted on the X platform, "Exclusive interview with Iraq's new prime minister in Baghdad. He tells me American companies will be given top priority in investing in Iraq."
She also quoted al-Zaidi as saying, "500,000 barrels per day of Iraqi oil will go toward replenishing the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)."
He added, "Iraq will consider suspending its OPEC membership if it is prevented from producing according to its capacity," further stating, "This will stifle corruption." LINK
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Clare: Iraq expands digital transit with Qatar agreement
6/25/2026
Iraq signed an agreement with Qatar's GBI to market cross-border internet transit capacity through the Civilizations Road Project and received its first payment in foreign currency, Communications Minister Mustafa Sanad announced on Thursday.
Sanad said the agreement adopts the Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) model, a long-term telecommunications infrastructure framework, to lease strands of Iraq's fiber-optic network, marking the first time the country has used this system.
The project relies on a land corridor stretching from al-Faw in southern Iraq to Rabia near the Turkish border, linking data traffic from Asia and the Gulf to Europe through Turkiye. According to the minister, the route reduces latency compared with conventional submarine cables, strengthens Iraq's position as an international digital transit hub, and has already attracted requests from several Gulf countries over the past week to use the corridor.
The Communications Ministry launched the Civilizations Road Project into commercial operation in 2024 as Iraq's first internet transit network, a roughly 2,000-kilometer fiber-optic corridor linking the country with neighboring states through five border crossings: al-Faw, Safwan, al-Mundhiriya, Arar, and Rabia.
In March 2025, the ministry signed an agreement with Qatar's Ooredoo to establish Iraq's fourth submarine cable, and in May, Zain Omantel International announced a new telecommunications corridor linking the Gulf to Europe through Iraq. LINK
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Courtesy of Dinar Guru: https://www.dinarguru.com/
Reset Intelligence For weeks the only question out of Baghdad was who. Who runs the central bank. Who fills the empty chairs. Today it turned into when, and Baghdad answered. Al Hikma, one of the blocs holding Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's coalition together, confirmed a special session of Iraq's parliament for July 5 to seat the last 9 ministers. By the middle of July, al-Zaidi is on a plane to Washington...Swearing-in now has a deadline, and the deadline is a flight...A date this specific, tied to a trip this public, is a firmer promise than the open-ended waiting of the last 6 months.
Walkingstick [Iraqi Bank friend Aki update] At 3:00 in the morning, Aki told us get ready because the lower notes and the new exchange rate is coming.
Stephen Iraq is moving faster than I've ever seen them move before. They are rooting out corruption at levels I had never seen before. It all makes you wonder, hmmm, the timing is all very interesting. We have the Prime Minister Zaidi going to Washington in the middle of July. A lot can happen between now and the middle of July...If this much is happening on the surface and they're disclosing this, what's really happening behind the scenes? That's the exciting part.
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Gold Is Trading Around $4,000 – So Why Is the U.S. Mint Selling a 1-Oz Coin for $20,000?
Miles Franklin Media: 6-26-2026
Michelle Makori, President & Editor-in-Chief of Miles Franklin Media, speaks with Andy Schectman, Founder & CEO of Miles Franklin Precious Metals, about the growing speculation surrounding the U.S. Mint’s newly released 1-ounce gold coin priced near $20,000 – while gold trades around $4,000 an ounce.
Schectman weighs in on whether the unusual pricing, along with a surge in December $20,000 gold call options, could be signaling something much bigger ahead for gold, the U.S. Treasury market, and America’s 250th anniversary.
He also discusses gold revaluation, the possibility of gold-linked Treasuries, why central banks are bringing gold home, and how the global gold infrastructure is shifting away from London and New York.
Schectman also breaks down the risks of central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, the GENIUS Act, and why he believes gold is becoming increasingly vital as a neutral reserve asset in a changing monetary system.
In this episode of The Real Story with Michelle Makori:
Why the U.S. Mint’s $20,000 1-ounce gold coin is raising questions
What December $20,000 gold call options may be signaling
Gold revaluation, gold-linked Treasuries, and July 4th speculation
Why central banks are buying and repatriating gold
CBDCs, stablecoins, and the future of programmable money
Alan Greenspan’s legacy, the Fed Put, and gold’s role in monetary history