Today marks the six-month point since the start by the United States and Israel of the war against Iran. The present stance of Washington, given the obvious failure of its delusional military onslaught, which comes at the cost of terrible loss of life and destruction, plus a worldwide economic shock wave, is to press ahead in the economic sphere with Operation Economic Outcast against Iran. As if its economic prospects were more realistic and “winnable.”
One week ago U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent, whose early career was as a financial hitman in the Soros/Epstein circles, announced Operation Economic Outcast, declaring to all nations that they must soon break any ties with Iran, or they will find themselves cut off from the U.S. market, and out of the dollar sphere.
Today Mr. Bessent began implementation of his decree, declaring that the Treasury Department will revoke banking access to U.S. financial institutions for the Egyptian Banque Misr’s UAE unit. He proclaimed, “Treasury promised to sever every economic lifeline Tehran has left….We also warned that Iran’s enablers cannot continue to enjoy access to the U.S. dollar and the global financial system.” He said that, “Banque Misr UAE decided to find out the hard way.” Financial media rank parent Banque Misr as the second largest in Egypt, and owned by the government. Who knows what’s next.
The premise of the new warfare “Operation Economic Outcast” is a non-starter. Yes, it can cause harm, chaos, and more, but it “wins” nothing. In fact, it is the exalted dollar-based Western system itself that is in trouble. And Iran is not a pariah.
At today’s International Peace Coalition, the 169th weekly online meeting, an illustrated report was given by EIR’s Ibero America Intelligence Director Dennis Small on the crisis of the United States economy, budget, $40 trillion debt, and the dollar sphere itself. In 2025, already two categories of the U.S. budget—military spending and interest payments on debt—were 28% of the national government budget. That percentage will jump at least to 35% in 2027. It is untenable; the flim-flam process is well underway to peddle shorter and shorter term Treasury debt, to have Treasury buy back debt, and other twists and turns. Yet U.S. Treasury debt is supposed to be the rock of the dollar system?
Another glaring aspect of “Operation Economic Outcast” is Washington’s presumption that Iran is a pariah, which other nations will shun. Small reported to the IPC just the rank order of Iran’s trading partners, and the percent of trade each accounts for: China (30%), UAE (18%), Turkiye (13%), Iraq (8%), Russia (3%), Pakistan (3%), India (2%). Moreover, much of the Iran trade is significant, even if apparently low in monetary value. For example, India is the chief supplier of rice to Iran, and has continued to do it for humanitarian as well as commercial and political reasons.
The dramatic reality is that Iran and many of its trading partners are fellow members of the alignments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BRICS, and regional configurations.
An international gathering currently in progress in Iran expresses the dynamic underway, with the potential to cohere with a new economic and security architecture. From Aug. 27 to Aug. 30 the 40th Islamic Unity Conference is meeting in Tehran. Some 600 people, from 40 nations are present, including scholars, various levels of government officials, religious leaders and others. This includes many nations suffering friction between one another, or even active conflict, but they are present, and talking. Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the group on its opening day. Another speaker summarized what the big worry is: “Muslim civilization is under attack by Western barbarism.”
The continuing deadly situation in Ukraine reflects the barbarism in the Western Coalition of the Willing to continue to arm and back Ukraine no matter what the consequences, including to the point of threat of nuclear war. Over the last 36 hours, Ukrainian bombardment into Russia reportedly hit one major oil refinery. Russian targeted strikes in Ukraine, struck the power and heat facility in the city of Kherson. Residents have been recommended to evacuate.
Today the Russian Foreign Ministry posted the overview on the situation given by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, from a TV interview he just gave. In the lengthy exchange he reviewed the recent visit to Moscow by Vatican envoy Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher and many other topics. He reviewed the history of the roots of the Ukraine conflict. When asked about how Russia can continue to be willing to conduct diplomacy when the West has so often broken trust, Lavrov diplomatically replied with several Russian folk sayings and fables, capping it off with remarks on “our psychology.” He said that it (Russian practice) is “not naivety ingrained by centuries of historical experience, but rather the enduring hope that a scoundrel cannot be a complete scoundrel….”
Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, urged everyone at today’s IPC meeting to go all out in available solutions leading toward peace and development, doing everything possible to strengthen the peace movement. The international open letter to Pope Leo XIV to convene an emergency peace conference of world leaders is gaining momentum.
