An American Abroad: March 2026

Israel-US vs. Iran War

Context

The armed forces of Israel and the United States have attacked Iran. Neither has formally declared war. Every sovereign nation has the right to defend itself. One of the defensive moves Iran has made was to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel

Iran has consistently maintained the position and policy that Israel has no right to exist. Obviously, Israel has a problem with this, especially as the Iranian regime openly sponsors its various proxies to wreak havoc on Israel — Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, etc.

The United States

The US' problem with Iran is not the Ayatollahs, or Islam, or theocracy in general, but the fact that Iran was and is willing to sell its oil in currencies other than the US dollar. The US cannot tolerate this, hence the reason for removing Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and Saddam Hussein of Iraq from power. The US must defend the dollar hegemony and the rule of the petrodollar. So far, Donald Trump has declared victory seven times, yet the bombings continue. Trump has also said that he wants a say in who will lead the next Iranian government, which would require Iran's unconditional surrender. The US cannot ask for surrender, unless it has officially declared war, which requires an act of Congress.

Iran

Surrender??? Not happening. Iran will defend itself until it has exhausted the last drop of blood and oil. If the US Marine Expeditionary Force were to occupy Kharg Island, where Iran processes about 90% of its oil for export, it would put Iran in a difficult position, depriving it of critical flow of funds. Its only remaining option would be to use all of its resources to defend its control of the Strait of Hormuz — a critical choke point for about 20% of the world's oil and natural gas needs.

Europe

The United States has requested its allies' support for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. It even asked China, the country most dependent on Iranian energy exports. The EU nations have politely refused (so far), saying to the US, "It is your war (which you have already declared won), so you deal with it. No, thank you." Other nations are similarly reluctant to be drawn into a conflict with the potential for world war.

The sad part for Europe is that yet again, we must suffer the consequences (higher energy costs) of actions we had nothing to do with. I have a feeling that this applies to all the people, everywhere.