Iran's Grand Strategy - How They Forced US Recalculation with Vali Nasr

The Mercantilist Restoration - https://anthonyfatseas.substack.com/p/the-mercantilist-restoration-howInterview recorded - 22nd of May, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Professor Vali Nasr. Vali Nasr is a Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and one of the most authoritative voices on Iran, having advised American policymakers and diplomats on the country for decades. He is also the author of Iran’s Grand Strategy: A political history.During our conversation we spoke about the current situation in the Middle East, what has led up to this conflict, Iran's surprising resilience, their grand strategy, potential escalation, reshaping the Middle East and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction3:05 - Lead up to war5:48 - Surprised about escalation8:38 - Iran resilience10:48 - Iran’s Grand Strategy13:18 - October 6th impact16:23 - Conflict resolution20:09 - Military escalation24:11 - How have views changed?28:17 - Iranian proxies over?29:47 - US withdrawing from Middle East?34:11 - Guerrilla warfare35:25 - One message to takeaway? Vali Nasr is the Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and Non-Resident Senior Advisor in the Middle East Program at CSIS. He served as the eighth Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS between 2012 and 2019 and served as Senior Advisor to U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke between 2009 and 2011.Professor Nasr is the author of Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History, The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in Retreat; Forces of Fortune: The Rise of a New Middle Class and How it Will Change Our World; The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam will Shape the Future; Democracy in Iran: History and the Quest for Liberty; Islamic Leviathan, Islam and the Making of State Power; Mawdudi and the Making of Islamic Revivalism; Vanguard of Islamic Revolution: Jama'at-i Islami of Pakistan, and co-author of How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare; as well as numerous articles in scholarly journals and commentary in Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. He has advised senior American policymakers, world leaders, and businesses, including the President, Secretary of State, senior members of the Congress, and presidential campaigns. He has written for New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among others.Vali Nasr - X - https://x.com/vali_nasrBook - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Irans-Grand-Strategy-Political-History/dp/0691268924/WTFinance -Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-fatseas-761066103/Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

The Mercantilist Restoration - https://anthonyfatseas.substack.com/p/the-mercantilist-restoration-howInterview recorded - 18th of May, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Michael Oliver. Michael is the founder of Momentum Structural Analysis and one of the most respected technical voices in the industry, with a methodology built not on price charts but on momentum structures that consistently identify major market turning points before they become obviou0:00 - Introduction1:21 - Market outlook7:08 - Geopolitical impact13:15 - Real assets to boom15:47 - Precious metals supercycle20:52 - Bonds22:26 - Silver and gold prices27:20 - Silver rise32:03 - Other commodities34:38 - China the winner?36:40 - One message to takeaway?J. Michael Oliver entered the financial services industry in 1975 on the Futures side, joining E.F. Hutton’s International Commodity Division, headquartered in New York City's Battery Park. He studied under David Johnston, head of Hutton’s Commodity Division and Chairman of the COMEX.In the 1980s Mike began to develop his own momentum-based method of technical analysis. He learned early on that orthodox price chart technical analysis left many unanswered questions and too often deceived those who trusted in price chart breakouts, support/resistance, and so forth.In 1987 Mike technically anticipated and caught the Crash. It was then that he decided to develop his structural momentum tools into a full analytic methodology.In 1992 the Financial VP and head of Wachovia Bank's Trust Department asked Mike to provide soft dollar research to Wachovia. Within a year, Mike shifted from brokerage to full-time technical research. He is also the author of The New Libertarianism: Anarcho-Capitalism.Michael Oliver - Website - https://www.olivermsa.com/Twitter - https://twitter.com/Oliver_MSAWTFinance -Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-fatseas-761066103/Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

WTFinance Substack - https://substack.com/@anthonyfatseasInterview recorded - 14th of May, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming on David Hunter. David is the Chief Macro Strategist of Contrarian Macro Advisors, with 52 year experience on Wall Street, with a contrarian philosophy that has allowed him to forecast economic cycles well ahead of the crowd.During our conversation we spoke about his current S&P targets, geopolitical impact, risk of economic crisis, sectors to outperform, gold and silver bull market and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:00 - 9500 still S&P price target?2:04 - Geopolitical Impact3:24 - Demand destruction6:43 - Peace agreement?9:37 - FED increasing rates13:20 - Kevin Warsh impact?17:40 - Trump & Xi19:56 - US/China cooperative relationship22:41 - Sectors to outperform27:04 - SAAS30:46 - Gold and Silver price action34:55 - Debt issues36:27 - Bailing out the financial system40:38 - Most contrarian position43:32 - One message to takeaway?David is an investment professional with 25 years of investment management experience and 20 years as a sell-side strategist with strong expertise in macroeconomic analysis and portfolio management. His strong macro capabilities combined with a contrarian philosophy have allowed me to forecast economic cycles and spot market trends well ahead of the consensus. David is an intellectually honest, independent thinker comfortable with charting a course away from the crowd. Accomplished stock picker and value-oriented portfolio manager.David Hunter - Twitter - https://twitter.com/DaveHcontrarianLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hunter-668ba015/WTFinance -Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-fatseas-761066103/Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 12th of May, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Alasdair Macleod. Alasdair Macleod has over decades of experience in financial markets, with a focus on monetary history, systemic risk, and the enduring role of gold. He is one of the most respected voices on sound money and wealth preservation.During our conversation we spoke about the Middle East conflict, shifting world order, neutralising the US military, Petroyuan, precious metals future and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:50 - Middle East conflict7:43 - Neutralising US military10:40 - Taiwan14:32 - Multipolar world?19:00 - Saudi Arabia vs Iran24:34 - Petroyuan28:57 - China fixed currency32:04 - Precious metals prices37:10 - Liquidating gold39:23 - Comex defaults42:20 - One message to takeaway?Alasdair Macleod is is an educator and advocates for sound money through demystifying finance and economics. His background includes being a stockbroker, banker, and economist.Alasdair Macleod started his career as a stockbroker in 1970 on the London Stock Exchange. Within nine years, he had risen to become senior partner of his firm.Subsequently, he held positions at the director level in investment management and worked as a mutual fund manager. Mr. Macleod also worked at a bank in Guernsey as an executive director.For most of his 40 years in the finance industry, he has been demystifying macroeconomic events for his investing clients. The accumulation of this experience has convinced him that unsound monetary policies are the most destructive weapon governments use against the common man. Accordingly, his mission is to educate and inform the public in layman's terms what governments do with money and how to protect themselves from the consequences.Alasdair Macleod - Substack - https://alasdairmacleod.substack.com/Twitter - https://twitter.com/MacleodFinanceLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alasdair-macleod-9494b27/WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 11th of May, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming on Simon Dixon. Simon Dixon is a former investment banker, geopolitical and financial analyst, and co-founder of BnkToTheFuture, which has facilitated over $2.5 billion in investments into more than 100 companies including Coinbase, Kraken, and Robinhood. He has spent nearly two decades applying a follow the money lens to the forces reshaping the global economy.During our conversation Simon spoke about how the financial system shapes the world, end of the US Empire, PetroYuan on the horizon, emergence of a multipolarity financial system and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction3:21 - Financial System shapes the world11:31 - System beginning18:00 - End of US empire21:40 - PetroYuan25:58 - Next empire?29:17 - Multipolarity finance31:52 - AI36:15 - One message to takeawaySimon is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bnk To The Future, a platform dedicated to helping people build and protect their Bitcoin wealth. He authored Bank To The Future – Protect Your Future Before Governments Go Bust, the first published book to include Bitcoin.Simon left investment banking in 2006 to campaign for monetary reform and discovered Bitcoin when it was just $3. Since then, he's focused on empowering people to prepare for a rapidly evolving financial world, investing early in companies shaping the Bitcoin ecosystem, such as Coinbase, Kraken, Bitfinex, BitPay, Ripple, Robinhood, and others.Every Friday, he hosts BitcoinHardTalk live on YouTube and X, discussing Bitcoin, macroeconomics, and geopolitics. Simon Dixon - YouTube -  @SimonDixon21  Website - https://www.simondixon.com/X - https://x.com/SimonDixonTwittWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 27th of April, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back to the podcast  @CyrusJanssen . Cyrus Janssen is a geopolitical analyst, investor, and speaker with over one million fans across his social media platforms, having lived across China and Canada and travelled to over 60 countries. He has consistently been ahead of the consensus on where the US-China relationship is heading.During our conversation we spoke about the geopolitical situation, China & Iran relationship, whether China is the greatest winner of the current geopolitical situation, the reset of US/China relationship, Chinese economy and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction 2:29 - Geopolitical overview5:42 - China & Iran relationship11:43 - China Geopolitical Winner?18:15 - Reset of US China relationship23:46 - Chinese economy29:05 - Back to 2015 trade?36:27 - One message to takeaway?Cyrus Janssen is a geopolitical analyst, investor, speaker, and social media influencer with over 2 million fans across all social media platforms. Born in the United States, Cyrus lived abroad for 15 years in China and Canada and enjoys sharing cultural and geopolitical insights from his travels to over 60+ countries. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Cyrus is the CEO of FastForward Marketing, a social media and consulting company helping brands in North America and Asia connect and build successful social media campaigns.Cyrus Janssen - YouTube -  @CyrusJanssen  X - https://x.com/thecyrusjanssenWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 27th of April, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Edward Dowd. Edward Dowd is a former BlackRock portfolio manager and founder of Phinance Technologies. He has been early on several of the most important macro calls of recent years and his January 2026 recession warning was published before a single shot was fired in Iran.0:00 - Introduction1:00 - Recession in 2026?4:10 - Weak employment7:20 - Inflation9:55 - FED actions12:33 - Inflation at 11%13:20 - AI investment20:19 - Lending stagnation?23:08 - Chinese weakness26:17 - Assets to perform?30:07 - One message to takeaway?Edward Dowd is currently a founding partner with Phinance Technologies. He has worked on Wall Street the majority of his career, most notably at Blackrock as a portfolio manager where he managed a $14 billion Growth equity portfolio for ten years. Edward's book Cause Unknown: The Epidemic of Sudden death in 2021 & 2022 propelled him as an alternative voice during the pandemic and the economic implications that continue to plague us today. Phinance's unique alternative macroeconomic analysis of the global debt crisis and what may unfold has given many a deeper understanding of the global nature of our problems today.Edward Dowd:Website - https://www.eddowd.com/Phinance - https://phinancetechnologies.com/Home.aspX - https://x.com/DowdEdwardWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 24th of April, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I have the pleasure of welcoming back Josh Young. Josh Young is the Chief Investment Officer of Bison Interests, an investment firm focused on publicly traded oil and gas companies. He has achieved consistent benchmark outperformance across nearly two decades of professional investing in oil and gas securities, with deep expertise in the E&P business model, operating environments, and capital allocation. A contrarian by nature, Josh has built a reputation for identifying value in energy equities long before the mainstream catches up — and for being right about the structural forces driving the sector when consensus gets it badly wrong.During our conversation we spoke about his overview of the geopolitical situation, closure of the Strait, global storage, physical vs paper prices, oil higher for longer, who is the winner of the conflict, US natural gas and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction2:04 - Overview of geopolitical situation5:46 - Surprised about closure of strait?8:20 - Global storage10:17 - Physical vs paper prices14:34 - Iran continue to control strait17:31 - Oil higher for longer27:56 - Winner of the Iran conflict?31:28 - Any other regions?34:09 - US natural gas38:19 - Companies Josh is watching43:09 - One message to takeaway?Josh Young has been professionally investing in publicly traded oil and gas securities for nearly two decades, highlighted in Barron's and elsewhere for exceptional performance as Bison’s CIO. Josh possesses a deep understanding of the E&P business model and operating environment, with notable experience as Chairman of Canadian E&P company RMP Energy (rebranded as Ironbridge Resources). Under Josh’s leadership, the company achieved a successful turnaround, outperforming peers and ultimately being acquired at a 78% premium. Josh is the author of numerous articles on oil & gas investments and is a frequent guest speaker at various energy industry conferences. Josh began his career as a management consultant to Fortune 500 companies and private equity firms. He later worked as an investment analyst for a private equity fund and served as an energy investment analyst at a multi-billion-dollar single-family office, which was nominated as Institutional Investor’s Single-Family Office of the Year in 2008. Josh holds a B.S. in Economics with honors from the University of Chicago.Josh Young - X - https://x.com/JoshYoungWebsite - https://bisoninterests.com/Substack - https://www.bisoninsights.info/WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 16th of April, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Michael Pento. Michael Pento is President and Founder of Pento Portfolio Strategies, a registered investment advisory firm managing money across the full inflation and deflation cycle spectrum. His proprietary 20-component model is designed to determine the two most important factors in successful investing — the second derivatives of growth and inflation. [Pentoport](https://pentoport.com/) He is a specialist in Austrian economics, a regular contributor to CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox Business, and the author of The Coming Bond Market CollapseDuring our conversation we touched on the current economy, why things are looking bad, Unemployment rising, the FED creating massive wealth divides, the triumvirate bubble and what this means for your portfolio. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction3:08 - Current Overview5:40 - Higher oil prices for longer9:34 - Unemployment10:58 - FED Jerome Powell18:14 - Issue with deficit21:28 - Bad for economy, good for markets?23:48 - Debt bubble27:28 - Close to the door28:38 - One message to takeaway?Michael Pento serves as the President and Founder of Pento Portfolio Strategies (PPS). PPS is a Registered Investment Advisory Firm (RIA) that operates like an actively managed fund without all the expenses. The Model Portfolio uses a proprietary macroeconomic model to determine when and how to invest across an inflation/deflation and economic cycle spectrum. The 20-component model is used to determine the two most important factors when it comes to successful investing: the second derivatives of growth and inflation.Michael Pento - Website - https://pentoport.com/Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelpento?lang=enLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-pento-a1882917b/WTFinance Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 16th of April 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Glenn Diesen. Professor Glenn Diesen is a political scientist at the University of South-Eastern Norway, associate editor at Russia in Global Affairs, and one of the most cited scholars on Russian foreign policy and Eurasian integration. His book, The Ukraine War and the Eurasian World Order, has been described by John Mearsheimer as a must-read for anyone trying to understand the great shift in global power taking place before our eyes.During our conversation we spoke about the overview of geopolitical situation, extended proxy wars, global economic fallout, conflict off ramp, potential for another Suez crisis and more. 0:00 - Introduction2:56 - Overview of geopolitical situation5:36 - Extended proxy war8:22 - Iran leverage12:01 - Attacking GCC neighbours15:08 - China & Russia supporting Iran17:45 - Global economic fallout19:51 - Conflict off ramp?22:54 - Trump destroying uni hegimony?25:48 - Another Suez crisis?28:14 - Middle powers33:22 - Re-militarisation of the world36:01 - Future world38:57 - One message to takeaway?Professor Diesen is an academic, author, editor, and political commentator. His research focus is primarily on Russian foreign policy and the geoeconomics of Greater Eurasia and the emerging strategic partnership between Russia and China. Diesen’s latest books are The Ukraine War & the Eurasian World Order (2024); Russophobia: Propaganda in International Politics (2022), Europe as the Western Peninsula of Greater Eurasia: Geoeconomic Regions in a Multipolar World (2021); Russian Conservatism: Managing Change under Permanent Revolution (2021); Great Power Politics in the Fourth Industrial Rivalry: The Geoeconomics of Technological Sovereignty (2021); The Return of Eurasia (2021); Russia in a Changing World (2020); The Decay of Western Civilisation and Resurgence of Russia: Between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft (2018); Russia’s Geoeconomic Strategy for a Greater Eurasia (2017); and EU and NATO relations with Russia: After the collapse of the Soviet Union (2015).Glenn Diesen: X: https://twitter.com/Glenn_DiesenSubstack: https://glenndiesen.substack.com/YouTube: @GDiesen1 WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas