Trump boasts USA acts 'like pirates', as China challenges US sanctions on Iran

Donald Trump boasted that the US government acts "like pirates", seizing Iran's ships and oil. "It's a very profitable business", he said. Meanwhile, Beijing is openly resisting Washington's sanctions against Chinese companies for trading with Iran. China has ordered all domestic firms to ignore US sanctions. Ben Norton explains these geopolitical developments. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfB8xQEZolk Topics 0:00 (CLIP) Trump: "We're like pirates" 0:14 US blockade of Iran 1:11 (CLIP) Trump on US piracy 1:57 US seizure of Iranian ships 2:43 AI memes of Trump as pirate 3:01 Multiple acts of US piracy 4:09 Venezuela 5:06 (CLIP) Trump on stealing oil 5:30 Pirates of the Persian Gulf 6:31 US sanctions on China 8:42 Hengli plant in Dalian 9:23 China challenges US sanctions 10:49 Secondary sanctions threat 11:38 USA crossed China's red line 14:17 US sanctions 1/3rd of world 14:47 Map of US sanctions 15:00 Sanctions are very deadly 16:21 Blockade of Cuba 17:19 US empire's goal 17:59 New sanctions on Cuba 19:02 Chinese solar panels help Cuba 19:47 Blowback: US sanctions backfire 20:45 Outro

Oil has been at the center of the war on Iran. Ben Norton explains how the United States became the biggest oil producer on Earth, and how the US empire uses petroleum as a geopolitical and economic weapon, pushing for monopolistic Big Oil corporations to dominate the global market. Ben also discusses why Trump pressured the UAE to withdraw from OPEC, and he debunks the myth that the USA is "energy independent". VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh-E3q6tGEw Check out our related video on the biggest oil crisis in history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUdyPJM_rOw Topics 0:00 Iran war and oil 0:36 Petrodollar 1:52 USA is biggest oil producer 3:39 US oil exports increase 4:32 Oil price skyrockets 5:03 Corporate profits rise 5:37 Strait of Hormuz 6:30 UAE withdraws from OPEC 7:31 Abraham Accords 8:37 OPEC history 9:14 Seven Sisters: Big Oil 11:01 OPEC members 12:13 OPEC+ participants 13:18 Goal of OPEC 14:25 State-owned oil companies 15:12 Why USA dislikes OPEC 16:56 Oil is political 17:18 Venezuela economic war 19:06 Big Oil execs in US govt 20:55 Cuba oil blockade 22:29 Energy and food crisis 23:36 US "energy independence" 25:06 US oil imports 26:12 Types of crude oil 27:26 US oil refineries 28:47 US imports by country 30:36 Oil benchmarks 32:47 Oil futures market 33:53 Price predictions 36:04 Economic crisis fears 37:02 Outro

The US-Israeli war on Iran has caused the largest oil supply shock in history, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Ben Norton explains how the attacks by Trump and Netanyahu, and the ensuing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, have unleashed an energy crisis that could destabilize the global economy. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUdyPJM_rOw Topics 0:00 Intro 0:23 Schrödinger's ceasefire 1:24 Energy crisis 3:11 Strait of Hormuz 5:14 Petrodollar 6:45 Blockade 7:35 Impact on Asia 10:46 Europe 11:29 Food crisis 13:38 China 16:20 Renewable energy 18:24 Trump's claims 19:41 Stagflation fears 21:34 Outro

There are growing signs that the United States may be on the verge of another major financial crisis, one that could start in the $3 trillion private credit market, which is already seeing significant turmoil, before spreading to other sectors. Geopolitical Economy Report editor Ben Norton interviewed economist Michael Hudson to discuss the serious problems on Wall Street. Hudson warned that the US economy is built on a Ponzi scheme that depends on continuing to pour money into a bloated, bubbly financial system based on unsustainable speculation, not industrial production. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blv49u3Q230 Check out our related short video about the private credit crisis on Wall Street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1cx9Zk6WZk Topics 0:00 Introduction 1:37 Highlights of Michael Hudson 3:29 Interview starts 4:18 2008 financial crisis 5:04 Zero interest-rate policy (ZIRP) 7:31 Private equity 9:17 Lack of investment 10:34 Wealth inequality 12:08 Debt defaults 14:10 Depression fears 16:12 US govt supports Wall Street 19:07 Ponzi schemes 23:51 US economic problems 27:35 Iran war impact 30:16 Financialization of economy 33:46 Outro

The peace talks held between the US and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan failed. Despite a temporary, two-week ceasefire Donald Trump announced a naval blockade of the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Ben Norton explains the USA's strategy, and how it is targeting China and Asian economies that import oil, natural gas, and other important commodities from the Persian Gulf. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDH5qMZSPm4 Topics 0:00 Peace talks in Pakistan fail 1:07 Trump blockades the blockade 2:53 Iran trolls the US 3:45 Trump's contradictory posts 6:12 Ceasefire 6:51 Israeli attack on Lebanon 8:17 Trump threatens Iran 9:45 Trump targets Cuba 10:38 Strait of Hormuz 11:41 Iran toll challenges petrodollar 13:12 Logic behind US blockade 14:01 Scott Bessent threatens China 15:31 USA targets China's oil supply 16:29 China condemns US blockade 17:06 Dangers of escalation 18:38 Chinese tankers 20:37 China's oil reserves 21:11 China's supply chain shocks 22:59 Trump wants leverage 24:09 The US is losing the war 26:25 Iran's message to Trump 27:45 Outro

The US government has pushed for years for a war with China, selling billions of dollars of weapons to separatists in Taiwan. However, those plans are falling apart, after the leader of the KMT, the Nationalist Party based in Taipei, took a historic trip to the mainland, promoting peace. Ben Norton explains the importance of Cheng Li-wun's meeting with Xi Jinping, and the complex political history of Taiwan. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiDtfdBYHBQ Topics 0:00 KMT leader visits Beijing 1:28 US "prickly porcupine" strategy 2:09 KMT, Chinese Nationalist Party 2:48 Taiwan's ruling party DPP 3:27 Nancy Pelosi visit 4:17 Taiwan's DPP supports Israel 4:42 Fears of new Ukraine 5:22 US war plans 6:22 US arms sales to Taiwan 7:09 USA uses Taiwan as proxy 8:12 (CLIP) KMT leader on Ukraine 9:08 Is Taiwan the next Ukraine? 9:28 Elections results in 2024 10:12 Lai Ching-te is unpopular 10:54 Iran war hurts Taiwan 11:48 Energy crisis 12:27 TSMC and advanced chips 13:45 Neoliberalism 14:10 Developmental state 14:54 Economic insecurity 15:14 Trump tariff threats 15:48 Beijing does not want war 17:12 Beijing opposes separatism 18:06 UN: Taiwan is part of China 18:50 One China policy 19:46 Map of Taiwan recognition 20:05 List of Taiwan recognition 20:45 Cross-strait relations 22:19 Rising trade 23:13 One country, two systems 24:31 US military bases 24:58 Peaceful reunification 25:27 Poll: Taiwan independence 26:09 Future leader of Taiwan? 26:48 Divisions within KMT 27:27 Modern history of Taiwan 29:05 Chiang Kai-shek 29:41 Democracy? 30:46 Cold War One propaganda 31:39 Sun Yat-sen 34:40 Historic step for peace 36:14 Outro

The United States and Iran agreed to a temporary, two-week ceasefire. However, Tehran said Washington immediately violated it, by allowing Israel to bomb Lebanon. Ben Norton explains how the USA has repeatedly lied about its diplomacy, and how Donald Trump's "art of the deal" is based on deception. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdidAa3CsU0 Check out our related video "Iran is winning the war. This is why": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV26rb-9YsE Topics 0:00 Iran war ceasefire 0:52 US ceasefire violations 2:40 Israel attacks Lebanon 3:25 Energy crisis and inflation 4:50 Both sides claim victory 5:32 Iran says USA violated deal 6:23 Trump's "art of the deal" 7:17 Israel bombs Lebanon 8:09 Strait of Hormuz 9:22 Russia and China UN veto 10:27 Peace talks in Pakistan 10:54 US military will stay 11:11 Trump threatens "civilization" 11:54 US empire violates treaties 14:28 Trump's 15-point plan 16:10 Iran's 10-point proposal 17:55 Someone is lying 19:04 USA underestimates Iran 20:00 Iran establishes new order 21:19 US imperialism continues 23:01 Outro

Is the United States on the verge of another financial crisis? Some top Wall Street executives fear the bankruptcies in the $3 trillion private credit industry could spread, as firms prevent investors from withdrawing their capital, in what resembles a bank run. Then there are problems with the AI bubble and Big Tech stock market bloat. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1cx9Zk6WZk Check out our other video explaining how the Iran war will transform the global economy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kocFwbTbs1Q Topics 0:00 New financial crisis coming? 0:36 Private credit industry 1:27 Cockroaches in private credit 2:18 Bank run similarities 3:32 Bank exposure 5:13 (CLIP) ex Goldman Sachs CEO 6:06 Trump admin scheme 7:55 Blackstone CEO funded Trump 8:48 AI and software companies 9:13 AI bubble 9:42 Big Tech Magnificent 7 (Mag 7) 10:13 US stock market bubble 10:40 AI drives US GDP growth 11:11 Most Americans in recession 11:43 Richest 10% consume 50% 11:57 Iran war, energy crisis, food 13:17 Outro

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