They’re at it again! Michael Hudson and Richard Wolff examine the confrontation with Iran as part of the broader collapse of Western economic and political dominance.

Wolff argues that statements from Donald Trump, JD Vance and other US officials should not be mistaken for a coherent strategy. Washington is buying time because it has no workable solution to the crisis it has created across the Middle East. Iran cannot trust US negotiations, the Gulf states are reducing their dependence on Washington, and the United States can no longer assume control over the Strait of Hormuz or the regional oil trade.

Hudson places the conflict within the struggle to preserve the dollar system. US power has long depended on oil being priced in dollars and oil-exporting countries recycling their earnings into US Treasury securities and other dollar assets. Washington’s control over oil, sea lanes and reserve holdings therefore forms a single system.