Geopolitical Economy Report

Iran is winning the war that was started by the USA and Israel. This is now admitted even by major Western media outlets. Tehran has successfully destroyed the US military bases in West Asia (aka the Middle East), forcing the Pentagon to operate from Europe. Ben Norton explains Iran's goals, and how it is seeking to establish deterrence and escalation dominance, using asymmetric tactics. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV26rb-9YsE Topics 0:00 Iran is winning the war 2:32 Iran's strategic goals 2:47 Failure of regime change 3:34 US military bases 4:25 Iran destroyed US bases 7:32 USA wages war from Europe 8:53 Bases used by USA in Europe 9:30 Iran's objectives 10:05 Gulf monarchies (GCC) 13:46 Normalization with Israel 14:54 Threats to Gulf regimes 16:40 Lifting of US sanctions 19:10 Oil and Strait of Hormuz 22:34 Escalation dominance 23:33 Costs of the war 25:34 USA running out of missiles 26:59 Deterrence 29:17 US and Israel are losing 29:42 Multipolar world 31:34 Outro

The US-Israeli war on Iran is transforming the geopolitical order, and could even unleash a global economic crisis. The conflict has caused the largest oil shock in history, disrupting global markets and driving up fuel and food prices. To better understand the implications for the world, Geopolitical Economy Report editor Ben Norton interviewed economist Michael Hudson, who discussed how Iran is challenging US dollar dominance and undermining Washington’s control over the global oil market, which has been a key pillar of US foreign policy. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kocFwbTbs1Q Read the transcript here: https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/p/war-iran-change-economy-michael-hudson Topics 0:00 Intro 4:29 Highlights 7:21 Interview starts 10:10 US plan to control oil 12:25 USA war strategy 18:55 Struggle for sovereignty 21:06 Why the war started now 26:05 Petrodollar system 30:16 Strait of Hormuz 32:02 Largest oil crisis ever 34:14 Energy & food crisis 37:10 Debt crisis 39:31 Outro

The war on Iran is part of a larger attempt by the US empire to reverse the decline of Western hegemony and recolonize the Global South. After invading Venezuela, Donald Trump wants to "take" Cuba, Greenland, and Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel is annexing the West Bank and colonizing southern Lebanon. Ben Norton explains the imperialist plan. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xa_Kahzhic Topics 0:00 Geopolitical context of Iran war 0:37 (CLIP) Trump vows to expand US empire 0:56 Plans to expand US empire 1:21 Colonial Donroe Doctrine 2:13 (CLIP) Trump wants Venezuela's oil 2:32 US military attacks Latin America 3:17 Lula: "They want to colonize us again" 3:51 US dominance declines, China rises 4:59 Trump threatens BRICS 6:25 Plans to revive Western colonialism 7:19 (CLIP) Marco Rubio praises colonialism 8:32 Marco Rubio 9:13 US oil blockade of Cuba 10:19 (CLIP) Trump hopes to "take Cuba" 10:49 US plan to recolonize Cuba 12:31 (CLIP) Trump on Cuban sugar barons 12:47 Exiled Cuban oligarchs in Florida 13:05 Cuban Revolution 13:48 Miami mafia 14:42 When Cuba was a US colony 15:39 US plans to colonize Greenland 15:53 Critical minerals supply chain 17:03 US attempt to save hegemony 17:45 (CLIP) Trump: USA will "own" Gaza 18:08 Israel is annexing West Bank 18:24 Israel invaded South Lebanon 19:48 Oil and gas in Middle East 20:21 Netanyahu's colonial Iran speech 20:56 (CLIP) Netanyahu on "barbarians" 21:32 (CLIP) Pete Hegseth on "savages" 21:48 Colonial rhetoric 22:25 (CLIP) Trump cites Manifest Destiny 22:45 Colonial propaganda 24:36 Gilded Age redux 26:39 Attempt to reverse decolonization 27:53 Will war backfire on US empire? 29:43 Outro

A top advisor to Donald Trump, billionaire venture capitalist David Sacks, warned that, if the war on Iran continues, "Israel could just be destroyed", or it could even use a nuclear weapon. Ben Norton explains how Washington sabotaged multiple peace deals and negotiations with Tehran, putting the world on the path toward catastrophe. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo9IHy0y8mo Topics 0:00 (CLIP) US official warns of nuclear war 0:22 Israel's nuclear weapons 2:04 UN vote against nukes in Middle East 3:00 US hypocrisy on Israel & Iran 3:34 Trump advisor David Sacks 4:55 (CLIP) Trump advisor on Israel & Iran 6:04 David Sacks, Silicon Valley billionaire 8:35 US military escalates war on Iran 9:24 This war is unpopular 10:00 Iran wants deterrence 10:53 Israel is running out of interceptors 13:33 Reports of damage in Israel 14:09 Censorship in Israel & Gulf regimes 16:36 Limited water in Persian Gulf 17:48 (CLIP) Gulf regimes in danger 18:56 Dangerous to be a US "ally" 20:31 Ali Khamenei opposed nukes 21:38 New leader Mojtaba Khamenei 22:35 Iranian military criticized fatwa 23:37 Will Iran get nuclear weapons? 25:16 Iran negotiations with USA 26:48 US-Israeli surprise attack in 2025 27:19 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) 28:09 Conclusion 29:27 Outro

In response to the US-Israeli war, Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the most important oil chokepoint on Earth, causing energy prices to skyrocket. However, Tehran is allowing Chinese tankers through, and says other ships can pass if they agree to sell oil in China's currency, the renminbi (aka yuan). Iran is also targeting offices of major American corporations, and wants to force them out of the Middle East (West Asia), while trying to expel US military bases. Ben Norton explains how this war affects the petrodollar system, and the dominance of the dollar as the global reserve currency. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2zBWcGahuc Topics 0:00 Iran war causes energy crisis 0:29 Oil price skyrockets 0:56 Fears of economic crisis 2:07 Strait of Hormuz 3:21 Iran permits Chinese oil tankers 4:17 Iran says: sell oil in RMB, not USD 4:43 Dollar dominance & petrodollar 6:28 Asymmetric warfare 6:59 US military bases in Middle East 7:47 Iran strikes CIA stations 8:46 Iran hits US refueling planes 9:10 US empire underestimated Iran 10:32 Iran targets US corporations 12:03 Economic warfare 13:07 (CLIP) Scott Bessent on sanctions 14:05 New leader Mojtaba Khamenei 15:21 Iran strategy spelled out 17:08 Tehran wants revenge 18:51 Yemen, Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab 22:16 US war on Yemen in 2025 23:23 Anti-colonial wars 24:16 Trump sends more US troops 25:21 Iran's Kharg Island 26:21 Global energy crisis 27:24 Trump wants military coalition 29:02 Iran allows Chinese ships 29:59 US dollar dominance 30:37 US current account deficit 31:20 Exorbitant privilege of dollar 32:19 Dedollarization 32:52 West seized Russia's reserves 33:49 Central banks buy gold 34:16 US Treasury securities 34:47 Oil sales in dollars 36:26 Trump threatened BRICS 37:16 Iran promotes dedollarization 37:42 China & Russia de-dollarize 38:33 India 39:34 UAE 40:18 Saudi Arabia 41:04 Iran & Indonesia join BRICS 42:14 Iran proposes BRICS currency 42:31 Divisions within BRICS 43:12 Struggle against imperialism 45:12 Outro

Why is the USA waging war on Iran? It's not just because of Israel. Washington wants to control the oil of the Middle East (West Asia) to maintain the petrodollar system. The Trump admin fears the dedollarization movement's challenge to the global reserve currency, which is the US empire's most powerful tool. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcXrvKVsPV8 Topics 0:00 Iran war, US & Israel 0:32 World War I analogy 1:47 Middle East wars 2:56 Oil reserves 3:51 (CLIP) Trump wants Venezuela's oil 4:14 Oil blockade of Cuba 4:59 Strait of Hormuz 5:40 Trump admin targets Iran's oil 6:06 (CLIP) US wants "to get all of the oil" 6:30 USA is top oil producer 7:11 Dollar as global reserve currency 7:55 Sanctions and financial system 9:00 Dedollarization 9:50 (CLIP) Trump fears dedollarization 10:07 Iran joins BRICS 10:22 Iran promotes dedollarization 11:08 Resistance groups 11:38 Petrodollar system 13:14 US oil deal with Saudi Arabia 15:06 Oil is (mostly) sold in US dollars 16:38 China buys Iranian oil with yuan 17:05 Venezuela sold oil in renminbi 17:26 Petrodollar and Venezuela 18:19 Trump official: Iran war for oil 19:44 USA targets China 20:44 Exorbitant privilege of US dollar 22:26 Commodities priced in USD 23:19 Financial elites benefit 24:17 US stock market: 60% of world 24:54 Global elites hold US assets 26:57 Gold standard to oil standard 28:11 Richest 10% hold 90% of stocks 28:43 Dedollarization grows 29:21 Rise of China (and India) 30:01 China buys oil with yuan 31:20 Iraq sold oil for euro, not USD 32:19 USA controls Iraq's oil revenues 33:30 Venezuela's oil revenues 34:19 Trump fears de-dollarization 35:00 UAE sells China LNG in RMB 36:01 Saudi Arabia considers yuan 36:51 Saudi BRICS invitation 37:15 UAE joined BRICS 37:44 War among BRICS members 38:29 US provokes Saudi-Iran conflict 39:10 China brokers Saudi-Iran deal 39:39 Petrodollar war 40:52 Israel and lobbying 43:34 Israel: US aircraft carrier 44:20 (CLIP) Biden: Israel "investment" 44:36 Israel and petrodollar 45:11 The tail does not wag the dog 46:05 Suez crisis of 1956 47:28 Origins of US-Saudi alliance 48:30 US-Israel alliance is recent 49:58 Bigger picture of US imperialism 51:55 Outro

After the US and Israel attacked Iran, Tehran's strategy of asymmetric warfare is clear: it closed the Strait of Hormuz and is attacking energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf, causing global oil and natural gas prices to skyrocket, crashing stock markets, fueling inflation, and provoking an economic crisis that will hurt the USA and its allies. The conflict has also become a battle of attrition. Iran is using cheap missiles and drones to deplete the defense interceptors of neighboring countries, which will be very difficult to replace, due to deindustrialization, despite Trump administration efforts to boost production. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAc9mgZrE6E Topics 0:00 Iran conflict becomes war of attrition 1:10 US strategy: "punch them while they're down" 1:45 US military vs Iranian military 2:25 Asymmetric warfare 3:30 Decentralized mosaic defense doctrine 4:13 Guerrilla economic warfare 5:08 Oil price skyrockets to over $100 5:30 Strait of Hormuz closed 6:00 Energy infrastructure hit in Persian Gulf 7:19 Economic crisis on horizon 7:54 Trump: it's a "small price to pay" 8:46 Inflation fuels inequality 9:47 US midterm election coming soon 10:46 Donald Trump's approval rating 11:08 Fertilizer supply chain breakdown 11:28 Food price shock 12:33 Dubai airport shut down 12:54 Gulf monarchy reputation crisis 14:06 Iranian drones vs expensive missiles 15:15 Iran's Shahed 136 drone 16:56 Missile math in asymmetric war 18:47 Military-industrial complex profits 19:24 Gulf runs out of interceptor missiles 20:29 USA prioritizes Israel over GCC 23:26 What does victory look like? 25:25 US allies need more munitions 26:25 Deindustrialization 28:08 Trump meets with weapons CEOs 29:16 Corruption in Pentagon 30:49 Wall Street wins 31:45 US empire underestimates rivals 32:28 Iran destroys radar system 33:07 Iran hits energy infrastructure 33:32 Hotels hosting US military officials 34:54 US military uses civilian ports 36:10 Gulf monarchies are not neutral 37:08 Top oil producers, by country 37:35 Top oil exporters, by country 38:24 Top natural gas producers 38:39 Top LNG exporters 39:11 Strait of Hormuz alternatives 40:10 Saudi alternative oil pipeline 41:11 Iraq and Kurdish fighters 42:31 Insurance companies avoid region 43:13 Trump Hormuz US Navy proposal 44:15 China in talks with Iran 44:58 Asia imports most Gulf energy 45:38 China stockpiles commodities 47:58 China renewable energy strategy 49:23 India wants Russian oil 49:57 India's ties with USA & Israel 51:39 South Korea hurt by oil crisis 52:12 Europe faces new inflation shock 52:39 EU wants Russian oil 53:17 Ukraine backs Gulf dictatorships 54:08 Geopolitical reality 54:53 Gulf monarchy propaganda 56:00 Foreign nationals in GCC countries 56:34 Migrant workers in Persian Gulf 58:32 Asymmetric warfare results 59:59 End of "strategic patience" doctrine 1:00:55 Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei 1:01:57 Nuclear weapons 1:03:29 Clear losers of Iran war 1:04:42 Outro

The US and Israel are bombing schools and hospitals in Iran. This is not an accident. War Secretary Pete Hegseth admitted they want to unleash as much "death and destruction" as possible. Their goal is total collapse of Iran's state and society. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dAY9J6aAr0 Topics 0:00 (CLIP) US secretary of war on Iran 0:27 Schools & hospitals bombed in Iran 2:14 US-Israeli war violates international law 3:45 Iran was NOT preparing to attack USA 4:30 (CLIP) IAEA chief on nuclear weapons 4:53 Trump admin boasts of "unfair fight" 5:22 (CLIP) "Punching them while they're down" 5:49 Sadistic rhetoric 6:18 (CLIP) "Death and destruction... all day" 6:49 Operation Epic Epstein Fury 7:39 (CLIP) Comparing Iran to Iraq invasion 8:09 Pete Hegseth, extremist "crusader" 9:09 US military promotes "holy war" 9:42 Anti-woke? Pro-war crimes 10:47 (CLIP) Hegseth promotes war crimes 11:40 US torpedoes Iranian ship near India 12:32 The cruelty is the point 13:12 What is goal of USA & Israel? 13:43 Ali Khamenei 14:10 "Decapitation" of Iranian leaders 15:45 USA & Israel want state collapse 16:57 Israeli admits: it seeks chaos 19:48 Imperialist war of extermination 20:47 Outro