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

After launching a war of aggression against Iran, Trump and Netanyahu are attacking more countries. Israel invaded Lebanon and besieged Gaza. US soldiers are fighting in Ecuador and shooting Pakistani protesters. Trump even threatened an embargo on Spain, demanding to use its military bases. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3mU2qgYUcE

Check out our related video - The US-Israeli war on Iran is based on lies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_xGgeV_9rw

Topics

0:00 US-Israeli war on Iran expands

0:36 Iran hits US bases in Middle East

0:54 Oil price & Strait of Hormuz

1:24 US State Dep't orders evacuations

1:59 CIA plans to arm Kurdish militants

4:02 Trump vowed to end wars

4:22 Israel invades Lebanon

5:06 Israel besieges Gaza

5:31 USA shoots Pakistani protesters

5:49 US troops fight in Ecuador

6:31 US oil blockade of Cuba

7:23 Many wars happening at once

8:16 Trump, the "peace president"

8:29 (CLIP) Trump promised peace

8:43 Trump's "Board of Peace"

9:04 Trump has bombed 10 countries

10:15 Trump attacks Spain

10:39 Spain opposes war on Iran

11:21 Trump wants embargo of Spain

12:33 (CLIP) Trump threatens Spain

13:56 Trump floats invading Spain

14:48 NATO military spending 5% of GDP

15:33 Spain supports Palestine

17:04 Spain moves closer to China

18:08 Germany backs US attack on Spain

19:20 (CLIP) Germany condemns Spain

20:06 Myth of European solidarity

20:40 Friedrich Merz, BlackRock boy

21:34 Kissinger on US "friends"

22:03 France admits war is illegal

23:12 Germany, France, UK join war

23:56 European vassals of US empire

24:27 (CLIP) Trump criticizes UK

24:39 UK lets US use its military bases

25:20 (CLIP) Mark Rutte: Trump is "daddy"

25:52 Canada's hypocritical position

28:16 Iran wanted negotiations

29:45 Outro

The US-Israeli war on Iran is expanding into a global conflict. The European Union supports it. The UK is letting Trump use British bases. Germany and France are involved. Canada backs it. Tehran has retaliated, in self-defense, hitting US military bases in Gulf countries. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un25sqF6tnU

Topics

0:00 US-Israeli war on Iran expands

0:46 Pentagon admits war is based on lies

2:54 France, Germany, UK join war

3:36 USA is using British bases

4:44 Iran retaliates in self-defense

5:48 Iran hits US bases in Middle East

6:20 US casualties

6:42 CIA coup installed Iran's shah

7:22 USA wants hegemony

8:21 Iran closes Strait of Hormuz

9:23 US & Israel target Iranian leaders

11:19 Supreme leader Ali Khamenei

12:28 US & Israel bomb a school

13:38 Germany ignores international law

15:10 Friedrich Merz, BlackRock boy

16:27 Canada PM Mark Carney

17:48 (CLIP) Carney WEF Davos speech

18:45 West's hypocrisy

20:19 Trump's war unites the West

21:33 Canada supports US-Israeli war

22:11 Netanyahu ICC arrest warrant

22:49 Nuclear weapon negotiations

24:24 US surprise attacks on Iran

26:34 Myth of "rules-based order"

27:20 Germany supports war

28:39 Turning victim into aggressor

29:29 France supports war

31:07 EU supports war

32:10 Ursula von der Leyen hypocrisy

33:16 EU works with Israel

33:40 EU backs Gulf monarchies

35:22 EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas

36:51 UN Charter on use of force

37:37 UN Charter on self-defense

38:14 Western imperialism

39:15 Outro

The United States and Israel are waging a war of aggression against Iran. This is not about nuclear weapons; it's about imperialism. Trump and Netanyahu admitted they want regime change in Tehran. They want to overthrow the revolutionary government and put a puppet in power, like the former shah. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_xGgeV_9rw

Topics

0:00 USA & Israel bomb Iran

1:21 (CLIP) Trump threatens Iran's military

1:49 (CLIP) Trump calls for regime change

2:33 Iran retaliates, hitting US bases

3:26 Iran is not Venezuela, or Iraq

4:18 (CLIP) Trump fears US casualties

4:52 Israel's PM Netanyahu

6:08 US empire's plans for West Asia

7:39 (CLIP) Wesley Clark: 7 countries targeted

8:14 Nuclear weapons

9:15 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA)

10:31 Fake US "negotiations"

12:21 Oil & gas in Middle East (West Asia)

12:45 USA wants to cut off China's oil supplies

13:55 Trump's oil blockade of Cuba

14:25 Israel: US empire's aircraft carrier

15:26 CIA coup in Iran in 1953

16:04 US-backed dictator, the shah

16:54 Iranian Revolution

17:20 Iran-Iraq War

17:52 US puppet, "crown prince" Reza Pahlavi

19:56 US-backed regime change in Syria

21:01 Imperialism

21:24 Outro

Cold War Two is transforming the global political system. Two distinct visions are competing: The US seeks to revive colonialism and imperialist "spheres of influence", using force to restore Western hegemony. China wants a multipolar order based on peace, sovereign equality, and win-win cooperation. Ben Norton analyzes speeches by officials from both countries.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqhLXjvTRsw

Sources and links here: https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/p/us-unipolarity-china-multipolarity-vision-global-order

Topics

0:00 (CLIP) China proposes multipolar order

0:30 Cold War Two

1:13 Comparing visions of USA and China

2:49 (CLIP) Stephen Miller: Might makes right

3:39 US imperialist model

5:18 (CLIP) Marco Rubio's pro-colonialist speech

7:13 Speech by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi

7:55 China opposes hegemony

8:45 (CLIP) Wang Yi explains China's vision

10:11 (CLIP) China opposes "law of the jungle"

10:24 Xi Jinping's global governance principles

10:53 United Nations

11:51 (CLIP) China defends UN system

12:33 Respect for small countries

13:56 (CLIP) US is destroying law-based system

14:40 Importance of sovereignty

15:38 (CLIP) Global South is rising

15:58 China's multipolarity vs US unipolarity

18:13 Outro

The Second Cold War that the United States is waging against China includes a trade war, tech war, and now a mineral war. In alliance with Silicon Valley Big Tech corporations, the US government is trying to recruit countries into Pax Silica, a coalition to create a new global supply chain for critical minerals that cuts out China. Ben Norton explains.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHHeug0APxk

Topics

0:00 Cold War Two against China

0:30 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on China "threat"

1:33 Trade war

2:26 Why China won the trade war

3:25 Critical mineral supply chain

4:10 Trump plans to restart trade war

4:47 Trump tariffs and SCOTUS ruling

6:15 Tech war against China

7:05 Chip war

8:32 AI chip supply chain

9:58 Military-industrial complex

11:28 Plans for new supply chain

12:14 Project Vault: US mineral stockpile

12:53 Japan deal with USA

13:35 Pax Silica

14:13 Critical minerals ministerial

14:57 Members of US-led Pax Silica

16:17 India

17:03 Other countries

18:04 US State Department narrative

19:41 China is the target

21:10 Big Tech corporations

21:30 Google

22:14 Public-private partnership

23:23 Under Secretary Jacob Helberg

24:32 US attacks on Iran target China

26:00 China oil imports

27:11 Geostrategic oil chokepoints

27:48 Strait of Hormuz

28:27 Strait of Malacca

29:27 Silicon Valley oligarchs

31:04 AI & crypto czar David Sacks

31:32 PayPal Mafia

32:41 Billionaires make US govt policy

33:19 AI race with China

34:57 Silicon Valley fears China

35:32 Billionaires run US government

36:46 India joins US-led Pax Silica

39:22 India's foreign policy

40:41 Non-Aligned Movement

41:23 New cold war

43:24 Outro

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered an overtly pro-colonialist speech at the Munich Security Conference in which he praised "the great Western empires" and said North America and Europe should unite to recolonize the Global South. Ben Norton reports on the increasing desperation of the imperialist West as its global dominance declines.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mWRy7A1cJI

Topics

0:00 (CLIP) Marco Rubio praises colonialism

1:13 From colonialism to decolonization

2:17 Western colonies today

3:24 USA wants to reverse decolonization

4:30 Marco Rubio's pro-colonialist speech

6:06 (CLIP) Rubio loves "great Western empires"

6:58 Demonizing anti-colonial movements

7:55 (CLIP) US plan to reverse West's decline

8:57 (CLIP) Erasing colonial crimes

9:32 Proud of colonialism

10:21 (CLIP) "Purported sins" of colonialism

10:37 Crimes of Western colonialism

11:39 (CLIP) Armies fight for "civilization"

11:49 EU leaders applaud colonialist speech

12:31 (CLIP) EU standing ovation for Rubio

12:40 Western media coverage

13:16 Munich Security Conference (MSC)

13:43 (CLIP) Europe's colonial "sigh of relief"

14:15 Defeat of European colonialism

14:57 US imperial message to Global South

15:58 (CLIP) "Western civilization"

16:30 Western civilization built on colonialism

17:00 (CLIP) Trump invites Europe to join

17:15 Rubio identifies as European, not Cuban

18:28 (CLIP) Rubio praises European colonizers

19:21 (CLIP) Rubio's ancestry in Italy & Spain

20:07 Capitalism vs anti-imperialist socialism

21:26 (CLIP) Anti-communism unites West

22:47 Cold War Two against China

23:42 New supply chain to cut out China

25:26 (CLIP) "Western supply chain"

25:49 US goal: reverse decolonization

26:19 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi

27:05 China opposes imperialism

27:42 China's speech at MSC

28:38 Need to reform the UN

29:36 Equality for countries

30:20 China opposes new cold war

30:59 Multipolar world based on sovereignty

32:34 Global South is rising

33:13 US empire wants global dictatorship

33:49 USA vs China: polar opposites

35:18 Outro

The Donald Trump administration has imposed an extreme oil blockade to prevent Cuba from getting fuel from any country. Marco Rubio wants to collapse the economy, causing millions of civilians to starve and suffer in order to overthrow the revolutionary Cuban government. Ben Norton explains the monstrous history of US imperialism and its siege of Cuba.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ykeYsIRqKQ

Topics

0:00 US oil blockade of Cuba

1:09 USA starves Cuban women & children

2:23 Interview with Cuban mother

3:57 Far-right Miami Congress members

4:40 Shutting down Cuba's free universities

5:41 US blockade is illegal

6:06 Trump threatens tariffs on oil sellers

6:40 US empire attacks international law

7:48 US war on Cuban Revolution

8:08 Goal: "Hunger, desperation, & overthrow"

9:29 Trump's war on Cuba

10:25 (CLIP) Marco Rubio wants regime change

10:58 Marco Rubio, warmonger in chief

12:42 Miami Mafia wants to exploit Cuba

13:16 Narco Rubio's links to drugs

15:12 Trump admin attacks Cuba

16:13 Trump executive order on Cuba

17:05 Monroe to Donroe Doctrine

17:57 Russia vows to send Cuba oil

18:43 USA seizes oil tankers

19:26 (CLIP) Trump vows to steal oil tankers

20:09 China supports Cuba

21:30 US-China trade

22:01 Will Brazil help Cuba?

22:34 Mexico is in a tough spot

23:35 US attack on Venezuela

24:26 World opposes US embargo (UN votes)

26:12 US threatens secondary sanctions

27:28 How the embargo works

29:24 Gains of the Cuban Revolution

30:56 Extremist Miami Congress members

31:36 US politicians call to asphyxiate Cuba

32:06 US corporate colonization

33:33 US imperialism

34:24 Outro

The USA is waging a new cold war on China, and trying to recruit countries in the Asia-Pacific region to join it. Vietnam refuses, and is making plans for a potential second war with the United States. Ben Norton explains the complex geopolitics of Southeast Asia and the US empire's strategy.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NncakfDmrxU

Topics

0:00 Cold War Two against China

1:00 Vietnam's "bamboo diplomacy"

2:18 Vietnam prepares for new war with USA

4:07 US-Vietnam relations

5:38 Fears of US interventionism

7:22 US National Security Strategy

8:10 Monroe (Donroe) Doctrine

9:08 US "Indo-Pacific" strategy

10:55 US imperialism

12:51 China-Vietnam relations

13:38 Non-Aligned Movement

14:10 BRICS

14:49 Vietnam's economy: GDP

15:38 Incomes in Vietnam

16:54 Investment-led growth

17:44 Vietnam's manufacturing exports

18:18 Socialist market economy

19:30 Vietnam's "Four Nos" policy

20:51 Vietnam's "2nd US Invasion Plan"

23:48 US-backed "color revolution" fears

25:03 Shift in US imperial strategy

27:17 Divide and conquer

28:24 Trump, Biden, Obama

29:07 Vietnam & China share vision

30:02 China & Vietnam deepen ties

30:43 China-Vietnam conflict

32:21 ASEAN

33:28 Thailand foreign policy

34:41 Southeast Asian model

35:39 Outro