Dr. Warwick Powell | US IS LOSING THE MIDDLE EAST — China & Iran Build a New Order | Sept. 2, 2026

Source: Carl Zha youtube



Description:
In this episode of Silk and Steel, Carl Zha speaks with Dr. Warwick Powell about Trump's renewed campaign of maximum economic pressure against Iran, the threat of secondary sanctions against countries doing business with Tehran, and why China may be the critical factor that determines whether the strategy succeeds or fails.

Powell argues that decades of sanctions and the latest military campaign have failed to achieve Washington's stated objectives. Now, with the US facing economic and political pressures at home, the Trump administration may be trying to create the appearance of action while avoiding an escalation that could produce even greater economic pain.

The discussion goes far beyond sanctions.

China's growing economic relationship with Iran, Russia's position, the Strait of Hormuz, and the emergence of new regional partnerships may be pointing toward something much larger: the beginnings of a post-US Persian Gulf security and economic architecture.

The conversation examines whether Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran could become part of a new regional configuration — and what role China and Russia could play as economic and strategic backstops.

The episode also explores the deeper problem facing Washington: what happens when a declining hegemon tries to prevent the emergence of a new international order?

And with a potential Xi Jinping–Trump summit approaching and the US midterm elections looming, Powell explains why escalating rhetoric against China may be driven as much by American domestic politics as by foreign policy.

Topics Covered
Trump's new “economic D-Day” against Iran
Why decades of sanctions have failed to force regime change
The limits of US secondary sanctions
Why China is central to Iran's economy
China's response to US sanctions
Russia's potential role
The strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz
The changing Persian Gulf security architecture
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran
China's rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia
China's expanding role across Eurasia
The emergence of a possible post-US regional order
Why Washington may be accelerating the changes it wants to stop
American exceptionalism and the struggle to accept a multipolar world
The US military-industrial complex
Trump, Xi and the next phase of US-China relations
US sanctions and tariffs ahead of the midterm elections
America's increasingly fragile economic picture
The AI investment boom and the US economy