President Donald Trump told Al Jazeera on Wednesday, August 26th that we are on the brink of “achieving a very great victory” in Iran. But that does not appear to be true. In fact, we have entered a great stalemate.
We’ve gone for 28 days without major attacks in the Iran War. We’ve lost more than we think. But have we won anything?
The two big prizes in this war are Iran’s nuclear bomb-making capability and the Strait of Hormuz. As you know, one fifth of the world’s oil flowed through the Strait of Hormuz before February 28th, when we and Israel attacked Iran to stop its nuclear weapons program. Before that attack, 130 ships a day were clearing the Hormuz Strait. 21.6 million barrels of oil every day. 900,000 barrels every hour. 250 barrels every second. Today that number has gone from 130 ships a day down to fifteen.
Donald Trump says that we control the Strait of Hormuz. We don’t. Iran claims it controls the Strait of Hormuz. And it declares something stronger. That God, Allah, has given the Strait to Iran to own in perpetuity. Until the end of time.
But Iran doesn’t control the Strait of Hormuz either.
Both sides may claim Hormuz, but the fact is that the strait is no longer 25% of the world’s seaborne oil distribution system. No one owns Hormuz because the Strait is deadlocked, frozen, incapacitated.
Other nations are trying to find other ways of getting oil from the countries that produce it to the countries that need it. Saudi Arabia, for example, is using its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea, where it loads tankers with oil destined for the rest of the world. Most notably headed to China and India.
But even the Red Sea is threatened by Iran. Iran’s proxies, the Houthis, are located on the northeastern coast of the Red Sea and have more than enough anti-ship missiles to reduce the flow of Saudi oil to a trickle.
But the real decider of whether this war will end in a big victory is, as you might guess, China. On the week of August 17th, Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary of the USA, spread the word that on Monday August 24th, he would launch an economic D-Day.
What he actually announced was silly, unworkable and an opening that the Chinese could use to show the world that they are now the great peacemaker, not the USA. That China could define the terms of the peace, and, in defining those terms, could take a giant step toward leadership of the world economic order. The world order the United States has led for 80 years.
Slowly but surely, one micro-step at a time, Beijing is turning that vast global economic infrastructure into a world order under the control of China.
Scott Bessent, speaking on behalf of the Trump administration, said that all of the countries on the earth are ordered to stop trading with Iran and must help the United States seal Iran off in a bubble, a bubble in which Iran’s government of Ayatollahs and Supreme Leaders would shrivel and die.
But the Chinese foreign ministry proclaimed that China “firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and are not authorized by the UN Security Council.” In other words, Beijing has declared that America’s demands are illegitimate, and China will not obey them.
America, the Chinese foreign ministry said, had no right to dictate Beijing’s relationships to other sovereign nations. In other words, the Chinese used the fact that American leadership is fickle and imperious against us.
From now on, China implied, it would dictate the rules. Not Scott Bessent, but China. When Xi Jinping visits the USA on September 24th, he is very likely to take advantage of the trip to subtly drive this point home.
______
About the author: Howard Bloom of the Howard Bloom Institute has been called the Einstein, Newton, Darwin, and Freud of the 21st century by Britain’s Channel 4 TV. Bloom’s new book is The Case of the Sexual Cosmos: Everything You Know About Nature is Wrong. Says Harvard’s Ellen Langer of The Case of the Sexual Cosmos, Bloom “argues that we are not savaging the earth as some would have it, but instead are growing the cosmos. A fascinating read.” One of Bloom’s eight previous books–Global Brain—was the subject of a symposium thrown by the Office of the Secretary of Defense including representatives from the State Department, the Energy Department, DARPA, IBM, and MIT. Bloom’s work has been published in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, Psychology Today, and the Scientific American. Not to mention in scientific journals like Biosystems, New Ideas in Psychology, and PhysicaPlus. He has appeared on Saudi and Iranian TV over forty times. Says Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of Evolution’s End and The Crack in the Cosmic Egg, “I have finished Howard Bloom’s [first two] books, The Lucifer Principle and Global Brain, in that order, and am seriously awed, near overwhelmed by the magnitude of what he has done. I never expected to see, in any form, from any sector, such an accomplishment. I doubt there is a stronger intellect than Bloom’s on the planet.” For more, see http://howardbloom.net or http://howardbloom.institute
______
References
______
### Middle East press
Al Jazeera Staff. “China Says Will Safeguard Its Own Interests as US Expands Iran Sanctions.” *Al Jazeera*, August 25, 2026. [Article](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/8/25/china-says-will-safeguard-its-own-interests-as-us-expands-iran-sanctions).
Al Jazeera Staff. “Trump Tells Al Jazeera ‘Not in a Hurry’ for Iran to Return to Talks.” *Al Jazeera*, August 26, 2026. [Article](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/8/26/trump-tells-al-jazeera-not-in-a-hurry-for-iran-to-return-to-talks).
Press TV. “Iran Military Doctrine Changed to Offensive.” *Press TV*, Iran, August 26, 2026. [Article](https://www.presstv.co.uk/Detail/2026/08/26/775121/Iran-military-doctrine-changed-offensive).
Jordan News Staff. “Trump: I Don’t Think Khamenei Is Dead and We Destroyed the Iranian Navy.” *Jordan News*, August 26, 2026. [Article](https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-111/All/Trump-I-Don-t-Think-Khamenei-Is-Dead-and-We-Destroyed-the-Iranian-Navy-54785).
The New Arab Staff. “Iran Says US Sanctions Will Achieve Nothing.” *The New Arab*, August 26, 2026. [Article](https://www.newarab.com/news/iran-says-us-sanctions-will-achieve-nothing).
Saudi Gazette. “Trump Says Strait of Hormuz Demined, Warns Iran Against Planting More.” *Saudi Gazette*, 2026. [Article](https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/664070).
Samir, Sarah. “Strait of Hormuz Ship Traffic Remains Well Below Average Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions.” *Egypt Oil & Gas*, August 26, 2026. [Article](https://egyptoil-gas.com/news/strait-of-hormuz-ship-traffic-remains-well-below-average-amid-ongoing-regional-tensions/).
Türkiye Today Staff. “Trump Renews Claim to Make Hormuz US Territory.” *Türkiye Today*, August 18, 2026. [Article](https://www.turkiyetoday.com/region/trump-renews-claim-to-make-hormuz-us-territory-3226336).
### China press
Xinhua. “China Has Made Clear on Multiple Occasions That It Firmly Opposes Illegal Unilateral Sanctions That Have No Basis in International Law and Are Not Authorized by the UN Security Council.” *Xinhua*, August 25, 2026. [Article](https://english.news.cn/20260825/b4715770cc644c55ac4466185196508e/c.html).
Xinhua. “外交部：中国同伊朗的合作始终在国际法框架内进行.” *Xinhua*, August 25, 2026. [Article](https://www.news.cn/20260825/d0ccd462f9aa40248d65176c4553496b/c.html).
Xinhua Staff. “China Warns Against Unilateral Sanctions After U.S. Vows ‘Economic Asphyxiation’ of Iran.” *People’s Daily Online*, August 25, 2026. [Article](https://en.people.cn/n3/2026/0826/c90000-20492402.html).
CGTN. “Military Action or Sanctions Will Not Help, China Says on US-Iran Conflict.” *CGTN*, August 21, 2026. [Article](https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-08-21/Military-action-or-sanctions-will-not-help-China-says-on-US-Iran-war-1PN1axHpT5C/p.html).
### Other press and sources
Deccan Chronicle Staff. “Trump Says He’ll ‘Soon’ Declare Strait of Hormuz US Territory.” *Deccan Chronicle*, August 15, 2026. [Article](https://www.deccanchronicle.com/world/trump-says-hell-soon-declare-strait-of-hormuz-us-territory-1979386).
Times of India World Desk. “Donald Trump Shares Image Calling Hormuz ‘New US Territory’; Iran Says Strait ‘Closed.’” *The Times of India*, August 23, 2026. [Article](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/trump-shares-image-calling-hormuz-new-us-territory-iran-says-strait-closed/articleshow/133432963.cms).
Reuters. “Iran and Oman Still Working on Strait of Hormuz Accord, Says Senior Iranian Source.” *Reuters*, August 25, 2026. [Article](https://www.reuters.com/world/china/iran-oman-discuss-temporary-hormuz-corridor-impasse-with-us-drags-2026-08-25/).
Reuters. “Aramco Offers More Oil Outside Hormuz with Some Cargoes Heading to China.” *Reuters*, August 26, 2026. [Article](https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/aramco-offers-more-oil-outside-hormuz-with-some-cargoes-heading-china-2026-08-26/).
Associated Press. “Iran Warns of Military Ship Ban in Hormuz under Potential Deal with Oman.” *Associated Press*, August 2026. [Article](https://apnews.com/article/cb19bc3f0b467db591edbef52d0db273).
Associated Press. “Dubai Airport Reports Sharp Drop in Second Quarter Traffic Due to Iran War’s Effects.” *Associated Press*, August 2026. [Article](https://apnews.com/article/648e58b5f0026bc82424bbff4f621610).
The Guardian. “Iran Faces Strait of Hormuz Paradox as Strategic Value of Chokehold Erodes.” *The Guardian*, August 26, 2026. [Article](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/26/iran-faces-strait-of-hormuz-paradox-as-strategic-value-of-chokehold-erodes).
CBS News Staff. “Iran War Updates: U.S., Strait of Hormuz, and Sanctions.” *CBS News*, August 26, 2026. [Article](https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-strait-of-hormuz-sanctions/).
CNN. “Trump’s Fallback Strategy on Iran Faces Just One Big Problem.” *CNN*, August 25, 2026. [Article](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/25/china/trump-china-iran-economic-war-intl-hnk).
Devlin, Mark, and Andrew England. “Scott Bessent Threatens Iran’s Economic Partners with More Sanctions.” *Financial Times*, August 25, 2026. [Article](https://www.ft.com/content/67c74e64-5c37-4a5d-ae6c-d3c002f99628?syn-25a6b1a6=1&utm_source=chatgpt.com).
Lynch, David J. “Bessent Unveils Sweeping New Iran Sanctions But Delays Toughest Blow.” *The Washington Post*, August 24, 2026. [Article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/08/24/bessent-unveil-economic-d-day-sanctions-against-iran/).
Fox News Staff. “Iranian Official Taunts Trump over Strait of Hormuz, Says Tehran ‘Neither Fears Threats nor Cowers.’” *Fox News*, August 14, 2026. [Article](https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/iran-war-trump-strait-of-hormuz-08-14-26).
Hobbs, B. D. “Trump Talks Crime, Says U.S. ‘Owns Strait of Hormuz.’” *News Radio 1200 WOAI*, August 14, 2026. [Article](https://woai.iheart.com/featured/san-antonios-first-news/content/2026-08-14-trump-on-crime-single-largest-reduction-in-violent-crime-in-us-history/).
MarineLink Staff. “Gulf Ship Traffic via Strait of Hormuz Is Below the 10-Day Average Data.” *MarineLink*, August 26, 2026. [Article](https://www.marinelink.com/blogs/blog/gulf-ship-traffic-via-strait-of-hormuz-is-below-the-10day-105375).
U.S. Maritime Administration. “2026-004—Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman—Iranian Attacks on Commercial Vessels.” U.S. Department of Transportation, 2026. [Advisory](https://www.maritime.dot.gov/msci/2026-004-persian-gulf-strait-hormuz-and-gulf-oman-iranian-attacks-commercial-vessels).
International Energy Agency. “Strait of Hormuz.” *IEA Analysis & Reports*, February 15, 2026. [Report](https://www.iea.org/about/oil-security-and-emergency-response/strait-of-hormuz).
International Energy Agency. “Oil Market Report—August 2026.” *IEA Analysis & Reports*, August 12, 2026. [Report](https://www.iea.org/reports/oil-market-report-august-2026).
Institute for Energy Research. “New EIA Report Shows Extent of Hormuz Oil Disruptions.” May 22, 2026. [Article](https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/fossil-fuels/gas-and-oil/new-eia-report-shows-extent-of-hormuz-oil-disruptions/).
Discovery Alert Desk. “Strait of Hormuz Oil Supply Disruption: The 2026 Crisis Explained.” *Discovery Alert*, August 21, 2026. [Article](https://discoveryalert.com.au/strait-hormuz-oil-supply-disruption-2026-price-shock/).
teleSUR English Staff. “First in Decade: Historic Xi Jinping US Visit Set for September 2026.” *teleSUR English*, May 16, 2026. [Article](https://www.telesurenglish.net/historic-xi-jinping-us-visit/).
