By Sara Flounders
September 10, 2026

Despite President Donald Trump, Pentagon head Pete Hegseth and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s gangster language and thuggish threats to totally destroy Iran, its ability to organize a fierce resistance is winning global support.

The failures to militarily defeat Iran, destroy its capacity to defend itself or economically strangle the country are exposing U.S. weakness and disarray in unexpected ways. Each of Trump’s exaggerated claims of victory are now met with skepticism at best and increasingly with ridicule.

The U.S. has demanded total isolation of Iran and threatened any country that helps or does business with this sovereign nation. In response, 10 countries that are engaged in almost half of all world trade announced their support of Iran and their determination to continue trade. Rather than increase isolation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) support for Iran provides a vital diplomatic shield and alternative economic lifeline. It has become a decisive collective pivot away from dollar-dominated networks.

Iran has grown increasingly confident of the ability of its thousands of sophisticated and accurate small high-tech weapons to challenge the overwhelming power of U.S. bases, missiles and aircraft carriers. Iran has announced a fundamental shift in its defense doctrine, warning that future responses to U.S. aggression will be asymmetric and multilayered. (Press TV, Sept. 7)

To growing U.S. frustration and humiliation, Iran has demonstrated the ability to advance its defense against U.S. bombings. Key U.S. military facilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan were again targeted during the first week in September.

The aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer USS George Washington came under attack. Iran claims its new Qasem Basir anti-ship ballistic missiles forced a U.S. aircraft carrier and destroyer to retreat out of range during an alleged attack in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command claimed the ships evaded being hit. Iran then released footage it says shows the confrontation. (YouTube.com/watch?v=1n7aT5zJixU)

The latest attack will force the U.S. to reconsider the warships’ vulnerable positioning.

The Strait of Hormuz – Is it open or closed?

The latest Pentagon strikes prompted Iran to retaliate against U.S. targets in the region, including in the Strait of Hormuz, previously one of the busiest oil-shipping routes that carried about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

Formerly 100 ships per day transited the strait; now less than 10 ships move cargo of any size. The squeeze on the strait has raised energy prices globally. Insurance rates for all freight, including tankers, have soared. Lloyds of London and other major insurance companies have little faith in Trump’s continuing announcements that the strait is open.

Iran is confidently speaking to a listening world audience. PressTV has posted several articles explaining in some detail why Trump’s latest declaration of a “tanker for tanker” threat is also doomed to be a strategic failure.

Iran has hundreds of miles of rocky coast line, with thousands of hidden weapons with increasing range. It also has hundreds of drone minisubs and drone speed boats, along with its missiles. Iran’s oil can be moved by many other alternative channels. The mega ships of the U.S. can’t hide and now lack even a close port in West Asia for resupply, refueling and repairs.

Sanctions are unenforceable

On Aug. 24, the U.S. launched a maximum pressure campaign dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast” with ominous fanfare. It threatened the harshest secondary sanctions in history against any nation, bank or business trading with Iran.

Both Trump and Bessent declared this an “Economic D-Day.” They were upfront about their intent to create massive inflation, domestic economic distress and critical shortages inside Iran.

Iran has 47 years of dealing with ever harsher U.S. sanctions and has developed numerous alternative trade routes via the Caspian Sea along with overland routes using high speed rail and trucking lines. Iran uses alternative currencies and barter arrangements to sell its oil, gas and agricultural products and to buy food, medicines and essential chemicals on world markets.

“The process of selling oil and delivering it to customers was carried out thousands of kilometers away from the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman,” Petroleum Minister Mohsen Paknejad explained. (ISNA, Sept. 4)

SCO members reject sanctions

Within less than a week, Iran issued a stunning reply to Washington’s Aug. 24 economic threats, at a meeting of heads of state and top officials that account for 43% of the world’s population and 23% of the global economy. The SCO held its annual meeting on Aug.31 and Sept 1, this year in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The SCO, based in Beijing, includes the 10 member states: Iran, China, Russia, Belarus, the countries of Central Asia — Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan — and Pakistan and India from South Asia, along with 17 countries that are Dialogue Partners or Observers. All of the member states of the SCO are under different forms of U.S. sanctions. (ofacblockedfundslawyers.com/ofac-sanctioned-countries)

The member states unanimously voted to denounce the sanctions and affirmed their total support for an “open, transparent, equal, inclusive, non-discriminatory, multilateral trade system,” based on international law and including “special treatment for developing nations.”

This gathering strengthened the economic relations of the entire region and is a lifeline for both Iran and Russia, which face the harshest sanctions. Most important is that it expands trade far beyond Washington’s financial reach. The summit became a major platform for economic and diplomatic pushback and was a resounding setback to U.S. demands that every country comply with U.S. sanctions on Iran.

India’s and Türkiye’s dual role confirms U.S. setbacks

Türkiye is well-known for playing both sides. Türkiye is a member of NATO, the U.S.-commanded military alliance, and has extensive trade with countries of the European Union. It complies with U.S. sanctions in all banking and dollar transactions.

But to U.S. frustration, Türkiye is working with Iran to set up a joint “Free Trade Zone” on the Türkiye-Iran northwestern border area of Khoy, Iran, near the strategic Razi border crossing.

Iran, Russia and China are major trading partners with Türkiye, despite U.S. sanctions. Goods flowing into Türkiye will move into global markets, despite U.S. threats and demands of complete adherence.

While Türkiye did not sign the SCO declaration, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met separately with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the SCO summit to discuss continued regional cooperation.

A similar situation exists with India, which has agreed to enforce U.S. sanctions. However, India’s rice trade with Iran continues despite the sanctions. Iran purchased more than 1 million tons of rice from India in the last financial year, an increase of 17% from a year earlier. Iran remains the second-largest market for Indian basmati rice globally. This reflects the ability of Indian suppliers to use alternative routes and destinations to maintain supplies to the Iranian market. (tribuneindia.com, Aug. 26)

India sells millions of dollars worth of pharmaceutical products to Iran annually and is a critical supplier of affordable generic drugs and specialized formulations using alternative mechanisms such as the Rupee-Rial payment system.

What is not counted in a global economy

According to the International Monetary Fund’s COFER database, the U.S. dollar still makes up about 56% of global foreign exchange reserves, although its significance is shrinking. However, as the SCO meeting confirmed, a great deal of global trade is increasingly using barter transactions that are not counted in dollar focused banking. The IMF only counts liquid financial assets held by central banks. (data.imf.org) 

To date, not one of the grandiose schemes of Washington’s war planners has succeeded. A reckless gamble to reestablish U.S. dominance, each new power projection exposes the limits of U.S. imperialism. The new “tanker for tanker” threat and the “Economic D-Day” declaration only pull the U.S. deeper into the morass.