Following the total failure of the Americans to bring Iran to its knees militarily, Donald Trump on August 20 announced the harshest economic strangulation against a state in history targeting Iran...
However, Iran, trained through over 30 years of economic sanctions and with the Caspian Sea open... will confront this challenge as well.
American outlet Axios made a curious claim, asserting that the US has secretly established a shipping corridor in the Strait of Hormuz with 10 million barrels of oil passing through Hormuz daily... if this is true, why did Donald Trump announce the harshest economic strangulation in history against Iran?
Major General Uzi Dayan, a close aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that Israel is fighting for «its survival» and is preparing for the possibility of a preemptive strike against Iran.
The commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC emphasized that Israel is a «cancer» and that its internal collapse is «inevitable».
Trump shocks: Announcing the most destructive economic operation ever launched against a state... against Iran
The United States is launching an unprecedented economic operation against Iran because it refused to sign the agreement, President Donald Trump announced.
«Nobody has ever given the Islamic Republic of Iran a better chance to make a deal than me. Unfortunately for them, they didn't take it.
So today, I am announcing the most destructive economic operation ever launched against any country», he wrote on the social media platform Truth Social.
Donald Trump also threatened consequences for countries supporting Iran and called on allies to align with the US.
In mid-June, the parties signed a memorandum aimed at launching a peace process.
However, three weeks later, a new round of escalation began: the United States accused Iran of bombing commercial ships in Hormuz, followed by a new exchange of missile strikes.
In recent weeks, the parties, with the help of mediators in the Middle East, attempted to agree on the terms of a new agreement to end the conflict, but those efforts collapsed.
Trump: Hormuz will have diminishing importance in the future due to pipeline construction
The Strait of Hormuz could become significantly less important in the future due to the construction of numerous pipelines, US President Donald Trump stated during a press briefing at the White House.
Discussing the price of crude, he noted that it currently sits at $84-$85 per barrel, partly due to the large volumes of oil transiting Hormuz.
According to Donald Trump, new opportunities exist in energy production across Texas, Alaska, Louisiana, and other regions.
At the same time, the American leader noted, numerous pipelines are being constructed there.
Earlier, Donald Trump posted a map on social media depicting the Strait of Hormuz as «new US territory» and claimed American forces control the waters.
A spokesperson for the IRGC, in turn, claimed that Iran controls Hormuz.
Meanwhile, it was reported that in the event of an American invasion, Iranian authorities would pay a bounty for every American service member captured or killed.
According to Iran's military leadership, special financial provisions are earmarked for women who volunteer to take part in such operations.
Araghchi (Iran Foreign Minister): Trump's «Economic D-Day» will bring «further defeat» to the US
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the fresh sanctions campaign announced by US President Donald Trump, characterizing the so-called «Economic D-Day» as a distraction from internal problems within the United States.
In a post on X, Araghchi argued that the move is designed to divert attention from Washington's «unprecedented debt and skyrocketing interest servicing costs».
Warning that «insistence on failed policies will only bring further defeat», Araghchi added that American «economic terrorism threatens the global economy and the sovereignty of states across the entire world».
IRGC warning: Prepare for more destructive weapons in the next war
Iran continues producing weapons and will deploy more destructive systems if a new round of conflict erupts, stated IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebbi, according to Iranian state television IRIB.
«The destructive power of the warheads utilized on IRGC missiles far exceeds that used in previous wars, and if war breaks out, our weapons will be entirely different from the past in all aspects», Mohebbi was quoted as saying.
The Revolutionary Guards spokesperson added that modifications include next-generation warheads with higher precision and increased missile range.
Axios: US created secret corridor in Hormuz with 10 million barrels of oil passing daily
The US secretly established a corridor in the Strait of Hormuz with 10 million barrels of oil exiting the Strait daily, nearly half the pre-war transport volume, reported American outlet Axios.
The US military covertly established a shipping corridor for inbound and outbound vessels traversing the Strait of Hormuz, enabling millions of barrels of oil to transit daily, a significant feat at a time when the broader war remains at a standstill, Axios revealed... though this is not true as proven in practice.
Under the operation, which has been underway in recent weeks, 15 to 20 tankers exit the Strait of Hormuz daily via a southern route along the coast of Oman.
Approximately 10 million barrels of oil per day, roughly half the volume transported before the war, have passed through and entered the global energy market, officials stated.
The operation is not limited to escorting laden crude tankers on their outward journey.
The US military assists ballasted tankers entering the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Sea via Hormuz, where they load oil from regional states and subsequently exit the strait.
«We have controlled the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz for two months», stated an American official directly involved in the operation.
«Iran may be a problem, but they do not control Hormuz... we control it».
Axios: US shot down 8 Iranian drones and 2 missiles on August 17
Axios cited a US official stating that American forces shot down 8 Iranian drones and 2 cruise missiles on the night of August 17.
Uzi Dayan (Israeli Major General): Preparing preemptive strike against Iran
According to news outlet Middle East Monitor, Major General Uzi Dayan, a close aide to Prime Minister Netanyahu, stated that Israel is fighting for «its survival».
He warned that the country cannot rely entirely on the United States to handle the issue of Iran.
Uzi Dayan said Israel is preparing for the possibility of a preemptive strike against Iran.
Channel 13 (Israel): Trump bet on Iran's defeat and is now paying a heavy price
After roughly 6 months of war, economic and military pressure on Washington has mounted, and fuel prices have become one of the most critical domestic consequences of the war, emphasized Israeli Channel 13.
Republicans, worried about losing seats in the November elections, are troubled by the economic cost of the war.
Continuous hikes in fuel prices could turn the war in Iran into a decisive factor for America's political balance.
New York Times: Trump's war in Iran has failed, calling it... a ridiculous spectacle
The New York Times launched a scathing critique against US President Donald Trump over the war in Iran.
«Donald Trump's failed war against Iran constitutes a military failure and a catastrophic strategic blunder, resembling more of a ridiculous spectacle», the report stated.
The New York Times, highlighting that «there is no clear plan to end the current conflict with Iran», added: «All we see are the futile efforts of a frustrated president trying to escape the bitterness of defeat».
According to the American newspaper, the basis and substance of pretextual and insincere negotiations, alongside continuous missile strikes, represent nothing more than an attempt to end the war without accepting defeat.
IRGC Quds Chief: Israel plagued by «social cancer» - Internal collapse is «inevitable»
Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, chief commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, condemned the worsening security and humanitarian situation in the occupied West Bank, stating that illegal Israeli settlers constitute a «social cancer».
«The occupiers of occupied Palestinian lands have been afflicted by a "social cancer".
Internal collapse is their inevitable fate», Qaani stated.
«Savage and desperate terrorists in the West Bank cannot sideline the global Palestinian cause.
Annexation is out of the question and collapse is definitive».
His comments come as illegal Israeli settlers continue the siege of three Palestinian homes in the town of Qusra in the northern West Bank for the 11th consecutive day under the protection of the Israeli military.
Since August 9, extremist settlers have besieged three Palestinian families comprising roughly 13 individuals, preventing access to food, water, and basic supplies under the protection of the Israeli army.
The Mayor of Qusra stated that settlers continued deploying around the homes alongside Israeli military forces, even though the area has been designated a «closed military zone».
In recent months, the Ras al-Ain area has witnessed multiple attempts by settlers to establish an outpost and appropriate Palestinian land and homes.
Palestinian authorities have warned that the siege could serve as a mechanism to displace residents and confiscate their properties.
Trump in the Hormuz trap: War over nuclear ambitions or cheap oil?
The US–Iran war cannot be measured solely by counts of missiles, aircraft, and warships.
One of the most critical arenas of this war is economics and energy, where US military power collides with geopolitical reality: Iran succeeded in transmitting the risk of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz into the global energy market, and from there directly into the US economy.
A clear indicator is the price of fuel in the US.
According to official figures released in recent days, the average price of diesel reached approximately $5.44 per gallon.
A figure that, if sustained, will exert severe pressure on transportation, agriculture, supply chains, and manufacturing costs.
A few days ago, the official US diesel average was reported at $5.257, roughly $1.50 higher than in 2025.
Concurrently, the US gasoline price reached approximately $4.06 per gallon on August 18.
This marks the highest level recorded for August and roughly $1.00 higher than a year ago.
The significance of these figures lies in the US economy's structural dependence on diesel.
Trucking, farming, heavy machinery, and a vast portion of logistics operate on diesel.
Thus, price hikes do not merely burden motorists; they increase freight costs on every good and feed directly into inflation.
At the onset of the war, Brent crude surged from roughly $70 prior to the US–Israel strike to over $111, while American diesel crossed the $5 threshold.
«The war Donald Trump launched claiming it would prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons has now become a war to restore oil and gas prices; this shift in agenda is the most critical indicator of the realignment of strategic balance on the ground».
Perhaps the most telling evidence of this shift is the public divergence between Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who recently stated that keeping oil and gasoline prices low for Americans is the administration's number-one objective in the war, while preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons ranks secondary.
Yet Donald Trump rejected the deal a day later, insisting that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons remains America's «number one and permanent objective».
The Trump-Vance rift goes beyond semantics...
Donald Trump still needs the «nuclear threat» narrative to preserve the war's political framing.
Yet JD Vance is compelled to address an issue directly impacting American voters: fuel prices.
In other words, the market is imposing its agenda on Washington politics.
The cost of this shift is not solely financial.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Donald Trump's approval rating dropping to 33%, the lowest point of his presidency.
80% of Americans believe the war will be prolonged, while only about 20% believe it is worth the cost. Even among Republicans, support hovers around only 50%.
This situation presents a strategic vulnerability for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.
A conflict intended as a display of American supremacy could now translate into inflation, fuel spikes, cost-of-living strain, and an open-ended foreign engagement, precisely the issues to which American voters are most sensitive.
Recent electoral analysis also indicates declining enthusiasm even among Republican voters.
From this vantage point, the war's strategic balance cannot be assessed merely by comparing military hardware.
Even if the United States holds the upper hand in air, naval, financial, and economic leverage, Iran wields a distinct counterweight: the capacity to convert the geography of Hormuz into direct economic and political costs for a superpower.
Iran's primary opportunity now lies in raising the cost of continuing the war, enhancing its negotiating leverage, and managing the threat posed by sanctions and the naval blockade.
For the United States, military dominance and domestic energy reserves provide an advantage.
Yet the primary threat remains a foreign war transforming into a domestic crisis.
Perhaps the most precise barometer of the new balance is not the tally of airstrikes, but the gap between White House rhetoric and pump prices across America.
A war meant to secure American dominance has forced leadership to justify how affordable oil and gas remain.
And that shift signals the heavy toll Iran's conflict has extracted from Washington.
Barari (International Relations Professor): «There are limits to what the US can do»
The scope of US economic leverage should not be underestimated, argues Hassan Barari, professor of international relations at the University of Jordan.
Barari told Al Jazeera that the importance of the American market to major global economies makes countries like China and India susceptible to US pressure.
«The American market is crucial for both the Chinese and Indian economies, meaning these nations could face repercussions if they fail to cooperate with the United States, and Iran cannot compensate them for that loss», said Barari, noting nonetheless that while Washington's naval blockade «inflicts severe damage on the Iranian economy», US power has clear limitations.
Iran's framing of the conflict as an existential struggle has succeeded in rallying citizens «around the flag and the state, rather than the regime itself», Barari argued, describing a dynamic that Donald Trump and other war proponents fail to grasp.
He noted, however, that Tehran's endurance threshold is not infinite.
«We cannot downplay the severity and danger the American move poses to Iranian society, nor can we overlook the Iranians' determination to emerge, at least strategically, on equal terms with the United States», the professor stated.
Paul Musgrave (Analyst): Sanctioning countries trading with Iran will prove «very difficult»
Paul Musgrave, associate professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, stated that «it will prove very difficult» for US President Donald Trump to impose «economic penalties» on countries doing business with Iran.
As he noted, «Donald Trump is attempting to unilaterally enforce the kind of coordinated sanctions framework that traditionally required multilateral consensus, meaning he must secure cooperation from China, Russia, and all five permanent members of the UN Security Council».
He added that such sanctions could potentially «yield results» for the United States if Donald Trump succeeded in enforcing them.
Musgrave also noted that «one advantage» for the US is that «Tehran's trade remains concentrated among a very small circle of partners, prominently including the United Arab Emirates, which has suspended trade transactions».
www.bankingnews.gr
Σχόλια αναγνωστών