The year was 1974 and President Richard Nixon had dispatched his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to Saudi Arabia to strike a secret deal. Three years earlier, in August 1971, Nixon had already administered the “shock” that ended the Bretton Woods system governing global finance since World War II — suspending the dollar’s convertibility to gold in a televised address that transformed every majo...
The event in the Strait of Hormuz can be seen as an example of escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, with potential far-reaching economic implications. The US military actions against Iranian targets serve to protect American interests in the region, particularly oil supply lines, while the Iranian response appears aimed at defending its sovereignty. This incident has brought attention to the petrodollar system, a secret financial architecture that has underpinned ...