What allies does he have left when he has threatened, insulted or punished most of them through tariffs?
US President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a meeting with cryptocurrency executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 19, 2026. Picture: Jim Watson / AFP
Even as one of America’s most powerful aircraft carriers, the USS Gerald R Ford, limped home amid reports of conditions aboard which might provoke a near-mutiny, the US war against Iran has entered another even more absurd stage… if that is even possible.
US President Donald Trump’s major new campaign to target Iran’s economy, threatens “tremendous” punishment on any country that helps or does business with the Islamic republic.
He called it the “Most Crushing Economic Operation Ever Taken Against Any Country!” and made it clear that Washington’s allies would be expected to step up the plate and support him.
The problem is: what allies do you have left when you have threatened, insulted or punished most of them through tariffs?
Naturally, the US is still the world’s economic superpower, so Trump’s bullying will have to be taken seriously.
But, it could quite equally be dismissed as yet more rambling from a man who wouldn’t recognise a statement of truth if it bit him in the backside.
Will this force allies further away? Will Trump care, if he even notices?
Key to this is how China, a major Iranian trade partner, responds.
Beijing is not likely to bow meekly to the US, so all Trump may be doing is cementing new alignments.
