US war on Iran isn't just about Israel; it's mainly about oil and dollar dominance

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

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