President Donald Trump's bet on war with Iran could have a significant impact on the United States' global financial standing, an analyst explained Monday.
The Bulwark's Jonathan V. Last described how Trump's decision "could speed up de-dollarization" and challenge the American currency's dominance, ultimately altering the 52-year history of the petrodollar system.
"I have been saying since the beginning that America is playing checkers while Iran plays chess, but it’s worse than that," Last wrote. "American leadership is utterly incoherent: We won, but we need help. We hate our allies; but will our adversaries please come bail us out?"
"Meanwhile Iranian leadership survived a transition of power in the midst of war, achieved its strategic objective in closing the strait, and is now looking to leverage China’s rising economic ambitions against the United States," Last wrote.
Last argued that as the rages on, Iran and China could reach an agreement to allow oil transport through the Strait of Hormuz, but under the condition that the currency switch from the dollar to the yuan.
"I don’t know how to make people care about this except to say that if Iran and China made this deal it would absolutely be the beginning of the end of the dollar backstopping the global financial order," Last wrote. "The long-term cost to America would be incalculable."
"The fact that Iran is making this overture ought to scare the crap out of us because it’s another sign that America’s political leadership is completely out-classed," Last added. "We have an illiterate madman tweeting contradictory bullshit every ten minutes. Meanwhile, the Iranian regime is calmly and methodically probing the structural weaknesses of the American-dominated global financial order."