THE STRAITS OF HORMUZ TURNS INTO DIRE STRAITS FOR THE WORLD ECONOMY.
April 19, 2026 8 Comments
I was going to wait for the markets to open on Monday to analyse the effect of a closed Straits of Hormuz on the oil and stock markets. But in this war there have been so many sudden moves that it is impossible to say whether or not the Straits will still be closed by the time the markets open on Monday. But if the Straits remain closed there is going to be a bloodbath on the international markets, a salutary lesson for all those speculators jumping on the wagon to make an early buck based on rumour even if that rumour comes from the President.
THEPLANNINGMOTIVE.COM 
See Richard Medhurst’s excellent unpacking of US objectives that runs pretty much counter to your analysis:
The Petrogas-Dollar: The Secret US Strategy Behind the Iran War
BIRTH OF THE PETROGAS-DOLLAR AND THE PIRATE STATE: A documentary film researched, written, and produced by Richard Medhurst.
https://richardmedhurst.substack.com/p/the-petrogas-dollar-the-secret-us
I will thanks for the heads up. I am aware of this argument, but I consider it a subsidiary reason not a primary reason.
Subsidiary to what? Regime change in Iran? Medhurst’s key argument is US control of global energy; Venezuela – done; Quatar’s gas – done; Iran, blockaded; Russia’s oil locked out of Europe and Europe deindustrialised; now China. US, the pirate state, controls the oceans. Russia’s ships grabbed, sunk. It’s down to Iran, Russia and China to stop the pirate but can they, will they do it or is their fear of a nuclear war stopping them from acting?
I see Russian foreign minister Lavrov supports Medhurst’s position
The question is what can Russia/China do to stop the US and will they? Given that the populations of the West are captive and without a progressive leadership, once more, we’re relying on the ‘Global South’ to oppose the Empire.
An analogy will suffice. During the antagonistic relation between the USSR and the West the military conflict took place in Korea Vietnam and Afghanistan. Today the military conflict between the USA and China has taken place in Iran and Ukraine.
Well, firstly it is taking place right now but Medhurst’s analysis looks at where it’s going and crucially, how. He argues that by crippling energy supplies globally, the US is attempting to neutralise/defeat economic and political adversaries/competitors. Furthermore, he argues that so-called allies like Germany, are being forced to relocate production to the US, effectively, they are being blackmailed by the US by controlling the price of energy (eg, the US is charging ten times the price Russia was charging for LNG). As to the Russian, Iranian and Chinese response to the pirate, the only way, as I see it, is to challenge/neutralise the US Navy at sea, which means war. Even the combined Naval forces of Russia and China can’t match the US’s.
BTW, can you point me to Lavrov’s views re Medhurst?
I think we can consider the USrael February attack on Iran, Round 2 of the US attempt to maintain its hegemony. It can only get worse and the US more desperate.
“Reuters reported, citing a Pakistani security source, that Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir spoke to US President Donald Trump and told him that the US blockade of Iran’s ports is a hurdle to talks. According to the source, Trump told Munir that he would consider his advice.”
Right but no doubt will ignore it.