Celtics and the Middle East 20260609

Falling into the Middle Eastern Trap

by with No Comment Behavioral SentimentCommoditiesExclusive ContentFeatured HighlightsIra SlomowitzRisk ManagementUncategorizedWorld

When Talking Becomes an Obsession

Opinion: The following article is commentary and its views are solely those of the author. This article was first published the 9th of June via The Angry Demagogue.

The United States is falling into the Middle Eastern trap that Israel fell into thirty years ago. This trap fits nicely with the post cold-war progressive Western way of diplomacy in that its goal is “talking”. Perpetual talking rather than deal making is the key to understanding the Middle Eastern way of things and Israel has become a practitioner in the “way” that led directly to October 7. The idea of perpetual talking is to reach a situation where you can defeat your opponent without making concessions. In the Middle East, they suck you in to a point where just “talking” becomes an obsession. The United States is heading into the same where results are less important than the act of discussion itself.

Celtics and the Middle East 20260609

Falling into the Middle Eastern Trap – When Talking Becomes an Obsession 9th of June 2026

This obsession, this being sucked into something against your best interests reminds me of a wonderful episode of Cheers, the sitcom that takes place in a Boston bar – a bar in which pints of beer plus inane discussions over anything that leads to nowhere is its reason for being. The episode that I am thinking of has Boston Celtics great Kevin McHale as a guest and the two main instigators of irrelevant and purposeless conversation, Norm and Cliff, (not so) innocently ask McHale how may bolts are in the famous parquet floor at the Boston Garden.

The waitress Carla, Boston working class par excellence, begs the basketball star to ignore them, knowing he will become obsessed and sucked into something that clearly will lead to a disaster for him and her beloved Celtics. Sure enough, the episode ends with McHale driving towards the basket with what ought to be the winning shot only to get distracted by trying to figure out how many bolts are in the floor of the Boston Garden.

That is exactly what is happening now in in the Middle East where President Trump is the basketball star being distracted by Iran and their attempt to suck him into endless discussions that are meant to lead to nothing productive. We don’t know if McHale ever figured out the number of bolts, but besides going back to Cheers with the answer, it is a useless endeavor that can only lead to defeat. So too, with the Trump Administration and the sacred talks with Iran where the end game might be something he can bring back to a press conference in DC or a rally in Pennsylvania but will be worth as much as knowing the number of bolts in the Boston Garden floor.

Israel fell into this trap with the Palestinian Authority of Yasser Arafat and when talks ended, the only goal was to start them up again. Just return to talking. The result didn’t matter. This trap picked up again after October 7 when the goal seemed to be to always be talking with Hamas via Qatar or Egypt even if everyone knew it would lead to nowhere. Ironically, it was President Trump who realized this and was able to do his dealmaking magic to free the hostages – but only after the IDF put Hamas in an untenable situation and Qatar wanted a “great deal” with the Trump administration. Talks never led anywhere.

So here we are, the Trump Administration is hell bent on continuing discussions for the sake of discussions no matter how many times Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Israel, or even the U.S military get shot at by Iran. When the goal is talking – when the obsession becomes talking – you have fallen into the Middle Eastern trap much as Keven McHale fell into the trap of inane bar talk for the sake of inane bar talk.

While the American President is a deal maker par-excellence, the Middle Eastern leaders, this time Iran’s, are the experts at making you think that talking is always the best outcome – because it is, for them. Eventually, their experience tells them, you will make a mistake. The Administration has allowed Iran to attack allies at will in the Gulf and in Israel, as Iran gains concession after concession due to the trap that is “talks at all costs”. The first concession was linking Lebanon to the talks and the next, done just yesterday was in putting Iran and Israel on the same level.

This is the mistake one would expect from the Obama-Biden crowd where they always believed that talks were the purpose – they didn’t have to fall into any trap as they were there already. However, the Trump Administration understood the fallacy of forever talks which is what makes it so painful to see them fall into the same Middle-Eastern and Western, progressive trap. Obsession to make a deal is good because results oriented; but an obsession that is just to “get back to talking” will lead only to results that you never wanted in the first place.

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of the author, and not necessarily the opinions reflected by angrymetatraders.com or its associated parties.

Follow Ira Slomowitz via The Angry Demagogue on Substack https://iraslomowitz.substack.com/

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Perception Over Fact 20260603

Perception Over Fact: Iran as the Savior of Beirut

by with No Comment Behavioral SentimentCommoditiesExclusive ContentFeatured HighlightsIndiaIra SlomowitzRisk ManagementUncategorizedWorld

Trump Policy and The Art of a Middle Eastern Deal: Israel, Iran and Lebanon

Opinion: The following article is commentary and its views are solely those of the author. This article was first published the 2nd of June via The Angry Demagogue.

Although it is difficult to see where the negotiations between Iran and the United States are going – if anywhere – over the last 24 hours the United States has made Iran the “savior” of Beirut. Against American policy of creating a civil and unified Lebanon at peace with its neighbors, the Trump Administration has told the Lebanese government and people that Iran still controls what happens in Lebanon.

Perception Over Fact 20260603

Perception over Fact: Iran as the Savior of Beirut

Even if this was not the case, in the art of the Middle Eastern deal, perception is more important than fact. Whether the Trump Administration actually twisted Israel’s arm due to Iran’s demands or not, the fact that Israel has agreed not to bomb the Dahiya section of Beirut after announcing that they would gives a message to the Lebanese people and government that Iran still calls the shots in Lebanon and not to rush to support those who wish to disarm or dismantle Hezbollah since you will be on the losing side.

Lebanon has been embroiled in civil wars since its inception. Beirut, the “Paris of the Middle East” has never known quiet times although that did not stop the partying (sort of like Paris itself today) and Iran’s involvement, much like Syria’s and the PLO’s before has not helped. Before the PLO inspired civil war in the mid 1970’s, after King Hussein threw them out of Jordan, the civil wars were about Lebanon itself. The French thought they created a formula for the creation of a semi-western state by dividing up the power centers amongst the religious and ethnic groups – Maronite-Christians got the Presidency, the Sunnis the Prime Minister-ship, the Shiites the speaker of the Parliament. The Druze historically were appointed Chief of the General Staff of the army.

This formula was, as can be imagined, not one for the free exchange of ideas but caused a rush to create power centers and led to conflict, civil and military. But it was all internal. Once the PLO and Yassir Arafat came, Israel became a factor in the civil war since Israel had to cross the border to stop the PLO from its numerous cross border terrorist attacks. After the First Lebanon War and the forced exit of the PLO, Iran created Hezbollah with the sole aim of using it, in the future, to destroy Israel. Therefore, from the late 1970’s until today, the Lebanese state has been embroiled, often against its will, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The goal of the Trump Administration’s negotiations in Washington between Israel and the Lebanese government is to break Iran’s stranglehold over Lebanese internal and external policy and allow it to either establish diplomatic relations with Israel or at least to put the two countries in the situation they were in before the late 1970’s – and that was a quiet, irrelevant border for both countries.

The real or even perceived notion that Beirut was “saved” from Israeli bombing by Iran’s demands has set back that goal and given Hezbollah and hence Iran, veto power over Lebanese government policy. The correct answer to Iran after their demands were made tying Lebanon to the cease fire was that Lebanon is none of your business and if your proxy decided to join your war then they will have to take responsibility for it. The time for “protecting” Lebanon was when you ordered Hezbollah to come to your aid and attack Israel’s north. The result of that – the administration needs to tell both Iran and the Lebanese government and people, is the loss of Lebanese sovereign territory to Israel and the destruction of Shiite villages in the south of the country. A further price is the destruction of the Beirut neighborhood in which Hezbollah has command and control facilities as well as underground arms depots.

Iran cannot be seen to be the savior of Beirut and Lebanon but the cause of its troubles. No amount of rhetoric to the contrary will prove to the Lebanese government and people what they see on the ground now – only Iran has the power to stop Israel’s bombing of their country. The Administration has set back its goals in Lebanon without aiding its war effort in Iran. The constant Iranian threat to make the war regional is coming true since the Administration is not taking seriously Iranian deal-making methods.

As we wrote two months ago in The Art of the (Middle Eastern) Deal” – “Each ‘concession’ by Iran will have to be paid for twice or three times – once upon agreement and then again before numerous times before implementation”. Iran agreed to open the Straits and then reneged and the US is negotiation for that again – AFTER Iran received the much needed cease fire.

Now, after the administration denied linkage to Lebanon, Iran is again demanding that linkage – not in order to open the Straits, but just to continue negotiations. This pushes both American interests to the back burner – the opening of the Straits of Hormuz and the normalization of Lebanon as a country free from Iranian influence. And the “concession” that Iran is giving for this is just a continuation of the negotiations that have been going on for over two months. In other words, like most negotiations in the middle east that are supposed to lead to “peace” – this too is moving backwards.

President Trump has asked for patience and has insisted that the United States will never accept a bad deal – and I am willing to be patient and believe that. But what if the goal of the Iranian government is not a deal at all but the ability to re-set their genocidal triad or missiles, proxies and nuclear weapons? These negotiations have given them time to dig out their underground missile cities, to keep their enriched uranium hidden and now to revive their flailing major proxy – Hezbollah. In the end, as the President said, it will be good, but by allowing Iran to take the initiative he is making it harder to get to that “good”.

What we have now is a continuation of American-Iranian negotiations where a concession was given to Iran and they are no closer to reaching an agreement. Iran is now perceived as the power to be reckoned with in Lebanon and Israel is put on a level with Hezbollah. Iran and the United States are now equals in this negotiation, something that was not the case when they started. While it might in fact end well, the journey is now a longer and more difficult one. The perception given by the last 24 hours that Iran controls Lebanon, is now the “fact” that the Middle East “knows”.

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of the author, and not necessarily the opinions reflected by angrymetatraders.com or its associated parties.

Follow Ira Slomowitz via The Angry Demagogue on Substack https://iraslomowitz.substack.com/

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Negotiation 20260415

Checkmate: Who is Afraid of Negotiations?

by with No Comment AssetsBehavioral SentimentBusinessCommoditiesExclusive ContentFeatured HighlightsIra SlomowitzRisk ManagementWorld

President Trump has Laid a Trap for Iran and China

Opinion: The following article is commentary and its views are solely those of the author. This article was first published the 15th of April via The Angry Demagogue.

Both the defeatist camp and the “victory now” group see the advent of negotiations between the United States and Iran as a defeat for the United States and Israel. The argument by the defeatists is that victory was supposed to be quick and now we are stuck and looking for a way out since no one saw Iranian use of the Straits of Hormuz coming. The defeatists claim that only negotiations can end the conflict and anyway, Iran never should have been considered an enemy so the United States and Israel have overemphasized Iranian danger. The defeatists do not want a military victory and assume defeat as the moral choice.

Negotiation 20260415

For the victory now group, negotiations are seen as a weakness by the United States and Israel since a further pummeling of Iranian military and civil assets is the only thing that will guarantee a non-nuclear Iran incapable of threatening their neighbors – and the Straits of Hormuz. If there is no regime change, this group says, then there is nothing left to do except continue fighting until the regime falls or until there is nothing left for them to fight with.

A third group sees tactical victory and strategic defeat – or at least strategic stalemate which has forced both sides to the negotiating table meaning for the United States and Israel it is at least a temporary defeat since a stalemate is not victory.

Which if any of these assessments are correct? Or is there a third explanation that says that the negotiations themselves are a victory even if the absolute goals of the war, removing Iran from the Chinese-Russian axis has yet to be accomplished. We won’t retread the arguments about how much punishment the Islamic Republic has endured nor will we agree that as long as they have one missile launcher and enough Kalashnikov’s to stay in power there is no victory.

However, we do agree as we argued in The Art of the (Middle Eastern) Deal, that negotiations done incorrectly will be a precursor to defeat. Each time there is a rumor of continued negotiations there is panic from the victory now crowd, assuming that this time, President Trump will cave into Iranian demands. The defeatists on the other hand assume that the fact of negotiations is a good thing since military defeat is assured. The Macron-Starmer wing of the defeatists are trying to pretend to be the grownups in the room, as they want to be part of the opening of Hormuz but not be on “either side”. Their attempt to insert themselves into the situation but not on “either side” puts them a step or two below Pakistan but maybe one level above Sanchez’s Spain in influence.

Back to the real world. While the negotiations are between two countries and hosted or mediated by a third, there are two other countries involved on the Iranian side – China and Russia, and four on the American side – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Israel. Each has its own interests and in general most of those mesh with the main participants in the talks. American allies need a non-nuclear Iran that is weak enough that it can’t threaten those countries and America has the same interests. Although a non-Islamist regime would be the best guarantor of that, it is not something that can be done only from the outside.

Russia and China need an American defeat more than anything especially after the world has witnessed the poor performance of their weaponry. They will try to re-arm Iran in order to create a war of attrition with the United States that America will be forced to end. This is where the interests of Russia and China clash. Russia would love the damage if not the destruction of Persian Gulf oil fields and refineries but the subsequent rise in oil prices would further damage China’s increasingly fragile economy. If Putin’s Russia has a goal of survival, self-enrichment and embarrassing the west (one seems to go with the other for Putin) and China’s goal is to dominate the Indo-Pacific, then the survival of Iran is a nice to have for Russia but a need to have for China.

China does not have the will and/or ability to do what is necessary to defend their Iranian ally, so they are really in a no win situation without a nuclear Iran. The American insistence on a complete end to the Iranian nuclear program is a shot right at the Chinese global strategy. Without the Iranian nuclear umbrella, China will depend on the United States for the flow of oil to their country.

As for Iran, they have one goal in this war and that is to survive with enough firepower intact to continue their quest to destroy Israel, rid the middle east of the United States and eventually to bring the Sunni Arab states in the Gulf under their thumb. As opposed to a dictatorship that is “only” corrupt and can be bought, they also need their theological goals met – and that starts with the destruction of Israel and genocide of the Jews. That, like Hitler’s Germany is an aim greater than the goal of winning the war.

They have come to the negotiating table because they felt that a continued bombing attack by the U.S and Israel and possibly the Gulf states risks their goals more than negotiating. This is the same reason that Hamas agreed to release the hostages as they saw the needed respite from the IDF in order to retain control of at least part of Gaza. This could be seen as Iran’s last ditch effort to survive and are using the cease fire to reconstitute their industry, re-arm and most important – to dig out and reach their underground missile cities

So why has the United States come to the negotiating table? Is it a show of weakness? An attempt to re-arm and bring more troops to the region? Is there a regime change plan that needs time to take share?

As for the last of these, over that last two days there have been car bombs and shootings at Basij checkpoints and the commander of Basij forces of Teheran has been assassinated. There is clearly something going on inside of Teheran and the head of the Mossad, David Barnea stated yesterday that the Iran mission will not end until there is regime change. Not only are the IRGC using the cease fire to regroup, so, it seems, is the opposition.

In addition to continued operations in Iran, the blockade of the Straits of Hormuz, an act of war in itself, tells Iran not to see negotiations as a sign of weakness by the United States, but rather as an opportunity for the US to widen their attacks beyond bombs and missiles.

The move from bombing to negotiations have trapped both Iran and China in a place where neither can win unless the U.S, against all statements by the President, VP, Secretary of State and Secretary of War, decides to fold.

Iran is trapped in a place where if they starts to shoot they will have their economy in worse shape than it is now and they no longer are lords of the Straits of Hormuz – THE trump card (no pun intended) that the defeatists have been gloating about.

China is trapped in a place where they need the United States to guarantee their flow of oil and their ally is no longer able to sell it to them on the cheap.

Negotiations have taken away the two things that were pressuring America and its allies – Iran’s daily missile attacks and their veto over the Straits of Hormuz. While they are using the time to try and rebuild what has been destroyed, that will take so long that, assuming no surrender by the United States, will be irrelevant to this war and the next -if there is one.

President Trump and the United States have set a trap for Iran and China and there does not seem to be a good way out. That doesn’t mean Iran will recognize it and end their genocidal quests, but it does mean that their path to victory has been shut down.

Checkmate?

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of the author, and not necessarily the opinions reflected by angrymetatraders.com or its associated parties.

You can follow Ira Slomowitz via The Angry Demagogue on Substack https://iraslomowitz.substack.com/

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WTI Crude Oil 20260309

Fear Factor High in Oil Markets and Outlook is King

by with No Comment AMT MarketsAssetsBehavioral SentimentBusinessCommoditiesIndiaWorld

WTI Crude Oil Trading in a Storm (War)

Writing from within the storm, it would be easy to feel a strong sense of nervousness as the newest Middle East War rages. However, this is unlikely the beginning of World War 3. Traders looking at WTI Crude Oil this morning have seen the commodity launch over $110.00. But the price has seen a slight dip and is now hovering above $105.00 in albeit fast conditions.

WTI Crude Oil 20260309

WTI Crude Oil Three Month Chart on 9th March 2026

Behavioral sentiment is nervous, there is no disregarding that notion and taking it seriously. Iran has been firing missiles and drones at neighbors and Saudi Arabia has been effected via some of their oil production. The Strait of Hormuz is certainly seeing an escalation in tension and is threatening to become a sea battle.

However, while the price of WTI Crude Oil rocks higher and day traders either make or lose money fast, speculators wager on short and near-term notions, there is likely a group of folks taking another approach and watching cash prices compared to options.

Yes, the intra-day price of WTI Crude Oil and all other energy sources will remain volatile near-term, but those with a mid and long-term outlook may be betting on optimism and the belief an end game will produce calmer prices. 

WTI Crude Oil is up close to 40% percent when a mid-term perspective is used. Will the commodity remain above 100.00 USD six months from now? Will WTI Crude Oil be above $100.00 three months from now or even one?

This thinking may deliver some type of price resistance in WTI Crude Oil. Certainly, there is a chance of greater escalation. But even though it was widely reported that oil facilities in Iran were bombed this weekend by Israel, the terminals hit were on the outskirts of Teheran, not on the island of Kharg. As dangerous as the war has become and the potential of worse damage occurring, those who are striking Iran do not want to damage Kharg terminals – at least not yet.

As for endgame, Russian oil is being allowed to be sold more easily, sanctions have been relaxed. Thus, it can be said there are international efforts to fight against price spikes. There are concerns about higher oil prices causing bedlam via inflation for the global economy rightfully. However, at some juncture things will eventually calm down. And that is what day traders need to keep in mind as WTI Crude Oil has raced higher, the notion that tactically the Iranian war will reach a de-escalation period is reasonable. 

Yes, there is a threat that Iran plays the an ‘Armageddon’ card and tries to destroy all vital energy resources in the Middle East, but we have likely passed that stage. Iran in many respects, respectfully, has been declawed. Iran can threaten, but can it really bite at this point? The island of Kharg is a key barometer, its facilities remain mostly kept out of the destruction zone, WTI Crude Oil may not spike too much higher.

As for highs, this morning’s jump occurred on fear, however the price has started to calm. We could certainly still see higher values in WTI Crude Oil this week or next, but thoughts about the potential of an end game resolving the current dangers, whatever that may be and no matter how long it will take – may prove to be an important ointment.  Time shall tell.

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Confused Markets 20260217

Market Volatility: Structure, Geo-Politics and Culture

by with No Comment Behavioral SentimentExclusive ContentFeatured HighlightsFinancial InstitutionsInvestingIra SlomowitzMajor Global Equity IndicesRisk ManagementSpeculatorsWorld

Why the (Free) World is so Confused and Depressed

Opinion: The following article is commentary and its views are solely those of the author. This article was first published the 16th of February via The Angry Demagogue.

Having been involved in the capital markets for the better part of the last four decades, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I have not seen this amount of volatility and uncertainty in the markets, but I will say that this uncertainty and this volatility is different. The differences are important and have to do with the current structure of the markets as well as the geopolitical goals of the various powers and would-be powers. The trading world has changed radically over the last two decades with the advent of algorithmic trading and how they respond to global events as well as the type of money that is coming to dominate the markets.

Confused Markets 20260217

The “type” of money has changed from those who invest in “things” – be they long term value investors like Warren Buffet and Peter Lynch, to those who chase income and dividends and to those who like to follow trends and industries. These investors, different in their own methods and goals had one thing in common – they invested in companies they felt had a future, or in the case of short-sellers (as legitimate as buyers) who thought it didn’t. The few hedge funds that were around four or five decades ago did what the name of the type of fund said – it “hedged” positions and gave up some potential upside in order to cushion losses when markets went south. That changed sometime at the end of the last century when George Soros nearly ended the United Kingdom by mercilessly shorting the Pound.

We are being very general of course and have not spoken about those who invested in bonds of “fixed income” products, corporate, federal or municipal as well as the basic speculator in all sorts of investment products. Nor have we spoken of the crooks who populate any era. We don’t want to give the impression that all was wonderful “then” – this is not a nostalgic look at the recent past but an attempt to understand what people were doing and how they did it, and how things have changed.

We are seeing now a sea change in the way the markets are responding to news and the way money is being invested. We still have the value and income investors; we have the large and small investors doing their best to pick the right stocks and bonds, and some of these investors also use options and futures to enhance and hedge their investments. Investing has become more sophisticated- read more mathematical – and the “basic” investor, large or small has been able to use this sophistication. However, the current hedge fund environment is based on much more than picking the right stocks or bonds and all that goes with it. The current hedge fund system is a group of funds, many of multiple hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars that don’t make investments per se as they try to beat their competitors by the microsecond in order to profit a very small amount on a a large but extremely short term investment (we will speak of the money of unfree countries, below).

As an example, there are dozens of hedge funds who work their “algos” to respond to market news and announcements only to get out of the position within minutes or even seconds. Each algo basically says the same thing – if X happens then buy and if Y happens, sell. The only difference is who will buy or sell quicker and then reverse what they have done. There have always been those with fingers on the button ready to buy or sell but the amounts were smaller and the effect less. Today, the reaction time is so quick that the large firms have their servers in the stock exchange buildings, close to the exchange computers so that they will get their orders in first. Remember, these are electronic so they are going at the speed of light. The difference between 100 feet way and 100 miles should not matter – but it does. We are talking the difference between 0.0000001 seconds for 100 feet and 0.000537 seconds for 100 miles – a time difference that people cannot discern.

This of course is not necessarily a bad thing if the algos themselves were correct for the long or even medium term (or what used to be called the short term – a quarter of a year). But they are programmed for the shortest of short term – what will happen over the next 30 or 40 seconds or maybe a day or two or a week. We see incredible volatility and panic where we should find none. A good or bad jobs report, inflation release or even a Federal Reserve rate cut or hike might have long term consequences but these trades that cause this radical volatility are not concerned with that. The market dropping two or three percent in a matter of minutes does not provide the comfort that investors usually seek. People jump on the bandwagon fearing the worst –when it was just the algos responses to the news rather than intelligent judgement on the news that drove the prices.

We will stop with the details and summarize – a large part of the uncertainty of the markets is structural as technology and the sheer amount of money being traded has surpassed what the markets, as currently structured can stand. As an example, as an employee of the Nasdaq Stock Market in the early 1990’s we were told to prepare for a 1 billion share day. During those days, there were very few shares that traded above $100 as the companies wanted more investors and there were many stock splits (more rare these days). The 1 billion share day in 1995 would have totaled around $40 billion. Today, daily trading activity has passed 15 billion shares and the total money is above $1 trillion.

It is not clear what structural changes need to be made in order to take all of this into consideration, but we do have some ideas (which we won’t bore you with now).

The second major issue that is the cause of the volatility and uncertainty in the markets has to do with what news is “good” and what news is “bad”. Not in the moral sense but in the economic and geo-political sense. What we mean by this is that there does not seem to be a unified view in the Western world where it should be going and because of this, it is not clear what news is in fact good and what is not. Economically it might be easier to figure out but even that has been hard since so many major American cities and so many young people are voting socialist and so much foreign money from non-free countries is flooding the market. News may say one thing for a free market economy and something entirely else for a planned socialist economy. It might mean one thing for investors in New York or Cleveland and something entirely different in China or Qatar.

Therefore, geo-politically the uncertainty is confusing. During the cold war of course we basically understood what moves were positive and which were negative. That is not to say there were no policy arguments but for the most part, the ends were agreed upon. Selling grain to the Soviets may or may not have bettered the Western world but both those like Henry Kissinger who supported it and Senator Scoop Jackson who opposed it argued based on the same goal – what was better for the free world.

This goes beyond who is considered the “enemies of the West” to what is considered the West – or even if it exists! We have always tried to write here from the perspective of what is good for free countries even if many free countries seem to think that Israel, for example, is not a member of that community. The same goes for those who doubt the cause that Ukraine is fighting for, as they support the Putin tyranny in the name of balance or alleged Christian values or whatnot. Interestingly, both sides – the right in the Russia-Ukraine war (and the Tuckeronian Right regarding Israel, too) and the left in the Israel-Islamist war – are willing to forgo freedom for some amorphous, form of justice or truth.

Iran is the perfect example. In every measure of Western values since WWII the Islamic Republic of Iran is an evil country. It denies freedom to its citizens, massacres them, executes women for immodesty and homosexuals for being homosexual. We don’t have to go on regarding the evils of the Islamic Republic of Iran but even with that, there are those in the West who support it. We are not talking about the legitimate policy debate regarding a war with Iran – morally as well as politically – but rather the fact that many just don’t consider that Iran is on the wrong side. Israel as we said is another example, but we can go on and on. Venezuela, Cuba and even China come to mind.

True enough, there were always people in the West that thought the Soviet Union or Maoist China was morally “better” than the United States or Europe, but never did they influence the politics, culture and businesses as the current naysayers do. The markets “understood’ that the Soviet Union was bad and reacted accordingly. The geo-political goals were mostly in sync.

The global markets reflect the geo-politics of the day and “vote” on it in a daily basis. The fact that there is a vast sum of money that influences the markets that are actively opposed to the freedom project – China, Qatar and Russia come to mind – does not help the situation. It is not the “foreign” money that disturbs the markets but rather which foreign money. There is a difference between an investor who is looking for the good company or the safe bond, and one who is looking to use their investment to further a radical Islamist or Chinese Communist agenda. President Trump’s trillion dollars of investments from Qatar and Saudi Arabia and others comes with a price tag he does not usually deal with – the price tag of undermining the market economy that has made him so successful. The proof of “goodwill” in the investments in the United States ought to be shown before that money flows into the economy. They have already contributed to ruining the universities (not that they needed the help) – there is no reason to permit them to ruin America’s great corporations, too.

The markets are crazy due to its structural issues and due to the “uncertainty” that is today’s world. Sadly, that uncertainty is not just uncertainty about what will happen, but uncertainty about what is good or bad (news). This goes beyond unity and “can’t we just get along?” and gets to the heart of why we are living today in the same culture. We say culture instead of country or city since that culture is the one that “got us here” as basketball or football coaches like to say.

The lack of agreement as to what matters most has affected the markets more than we think, and it all has contributed to the depression that so many in the free world are feeling at the moment.

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of the author, and not necessarily the opinions reflected by angrymetatraders.com or its associated parties.

You can follow Ira Slomowitz via The Angry Demagogue on Substack https://iraslomowitz.substack.com/ 

 

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postN88

Iran, Oil and The Crumbling of a Criminal Dictatorial Wall

by with No Comment AMT MarketsBehavioral SentimentFeatured Highlights

Iran, Oil and The Crumbling of a Criminal Dictatorial Wall

Step aside for a moment from the conspiracy theorists and let’s consider that the U.S did not take out Maduro of Venezuela in order to facilitate more supply of oil. Let’s consider the possibility that Maduro was removed because he did not facilitate free enterprise and ran a criminal enterprise that did not favor the U.S.

postN88
WTI Crude Oil One Year Chart as of 9th January 2026

Venezuela has the largest demonstrated oil reserves in the world, but the U.S has done rather well without it for years. The Trump administration’s move to take over Venezuela deters China and Russia’s influence in the Americas, while also putting another nail in the coffin of the Cuban regime. The word regime is used implicitly to point out that Venezuela, Russia, China and Cuba are all regimes of one sort via their one party ruling systems. Yes, you can argue the United State has returned to an imperialist philosophy, but that doesn’t mean it has dictatorial rule. Some will argue that point, I understand. But let’s step away from the complexity of political biases – including my own – and insights and discuss oil for a moment.

The takeover of the Venezuelan oil infrastructure, which has not happened in full yet via the U.S military action, does not mean U.S oil companies will make trillions of dollars from the adventure immediately. In fact a glut of oil is one of the potential consequences if Venezuela were to return to an open market system with its energy supply. Yes, the price of oil would in theory likely get cheaper. While it can be argued that this will help the U.S consumers, however many U.S producers of the shale oil industry would be put in a difficult spot. Producing oil from shale deposits requires hydraulic fracturing – known as fracking – and is an expensive endeavor. Cheaper oil from Venezuela in other words could put small and medium producers in the U.S out of business if supply becomes too ample

Now let’s turn our attention to Iran and the attempted revolution that is fomenting a reaction from the regime of that nation. Oil supply is certainly at stake for the world, but there is the overwhelmingly important possibility of allowing 90 million plus people to live in a system without repression. As of last night internet and telephone lines have been shuttered by the dictatorial government. There is a legitimate fear that many people protesting for their rights to be free now face the risk of violence and some have already begun to pay with their lives. Freedom is more important than oil for the people of Iran and Venezuela. It should also be pointed out that Venezuela and Iran are members of OPEC and this is likely not going to change.

The Trump administration is threatening military action against the Iranian rulers, but it is questionable how the regime of Iran could be overthrown by outside forces if there are not active combat boots the ground. While it may be possible to attempt a Venezuela like mission in Iran, that would be difficult at best considering the regime is already paranoid and on high alert. The civilians of Iran will have to do a lot of the work by themselves. Which means the populace of Iran will need to be able to organize and collectively topple a dictatorship, and this is unlikely to be done by handing out flowers. The regular army of Iran must disobey orders and the police must decide not to participate in violence against the protesters, allowing a seizure of power by the people.

At this juncture it remains difficult to say what will happen in Iran, except to say that there is likely going to be blood spilled. The Berlin Wall fell after decades of Cold War between the West and East. The wall of the Islamic Republic of Iran which was declared in the first week of April 1979 has nearly been running its dictatorship as long as the communists controlled Eastern Europe.

If and it is a big if, the Iranian people are able to topple the Islamic Republic of Iran it would be a game changer the world over. The complexity of the mafia style state that the current dictatorship has controlled not only in the Middle East, but throughout South America and elsewhere via influence with its proxies like Hezbollah is enormous. The dismantling of this network would take longer than the toppling of the Iranian regime. The world is unlikely to ever know in full detail the criminal activity of the current Iranian government and its proxies worldwide.

This is not about oil, it is about freedom. However, if the oil of Iran suddenly came under the control of a Western looking Iran that was unshackled, yes it would add to a vast amount of energy that the world already enjoys, but OPEC would find a way to manage the supply.

If Iran were to join the ranks of free nations and castoff its current leadership the world would benefit greatly. Only nations and proxies that gain from the exploitation of the Iranian dictatorship would worry. If the Iranian dictatorship falls there will not be paradise, but the event would be significant and transform the current state of global affairs.

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U.S National Security, Part 3: Don’t Underemphasize Freedom

by with No Comment AMT MarketsBehavioral SentimentFeatured Highlights

U.S National Security, Part 3: Don't Underemphasize Freedom

Opinion: The following article is commentary and its views are solely those of the author. This article was first published the 30th of December via The Angry Demagogue.

 
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Conclusion

The post-Cold War world that the Strategy Paper tries to figure out is much more than the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of China. One of the main goals of the Trump administration is to turn the clock back on “globalization”, be it via tariffs, other economic ways or even, military means.

While the world is panicking over AI’s destruction of good white collar jobs, it has, paradoxically, created a world where the auto industry can’t find enough qualified mechanics at nice six figure salaries. Not even ten years ago the journalists were haranguing out of work blue collar workers with “go learn to code”, the beer guzzling crew can now tell the tearful journalists and Hollywood “writers” who can’t write better than AI to “go learn how to weld” (or at least handle a screwdriver). But the strategic issues we are facing go beyond manufacturing jobs.

The challenge to the United States and to other free countries is how to handle a new reality where massive debt threatens the diminution, if not the destruction, of the life style we have all come to take for granted and where revanchist regimes don’t quite understand that their power and “prestige” is a result of what has been built in those free countries they want to replace. China, like Russia, Iran, Turkey, Qatar and the non-state actors like Hamas, Hezbollah, the Moslem Brotherhood and others don’t quite understand that while they can use, and even sometimes improve on what freedom has provided them, they will stagnate once they attain their goal of defeating and destroying the free world.

As advanced as China becomes and even if it flies to the moon, overtakes the United States in AI and quantum computing and manages to make the United States into only the breadbasket of the world, they will stagnate as only free markets and free people can move the world to the next step. Growth can only be accomplished by free people. True enough, the economy often grows in ways that we don’t always like, the alternative is stagnation and a return to the pre-scientific age. For all the talk of “new man” and “progress” and everything else that the Soviet Union strived to create, they produced no medicines, no medical devices and no medical treatments.

Therefore, the defeat of the revanchist world and the preservation of freedom needs to be the paramount goal of American foreign policy. This does not mean the creation of democracies where none have ever existed and it does not mean sending troops in every time a political prisoner is arrested or even a plan to militarily defeat the CCP, but it does mean always supporting free countries against the unfree even when the United States is also “friends” with the unfree one.

This means that it will also give free countries leeway when their interests do not align perfectly with America’s (non-core) interests. America as sole protector of the free world has leverage that America as midwife to a set of regional alliances does not. This is a choice that America can make and a correct reading of the Strategy Paper tells us that the United States no longer wants to or can be the main power in every region in the world. This means that there needs to be a change in attitude in America so that it cannot force its will on its allies just because there is another contract to be had or another “cause” that has caught the eye of the country’s establishment.

Encouraging regional alliances of free countries such as the new Eastern-Med Alliance that has already been established between Greece, Cyprus and Israel is a prime example. In addition to the economic cooperation there has been joint defense training and there are agreements that will lead to a defense cooperation pact if not a NATO-like security treaty. Turkey is the common competitor, or enemy, of these three countries. Turkey claims certain Greek islands, occupies parts of Cyprus and has designs on Israel as it strives to be the Islamic “liberator” of Jerusalem. There are gas exploration agreements and cooperation and there would have been a pipeline to Europe if the Biden administration had not stopped it (while they approved the Russian-German pipeline).

Italy ought to be a natural member of the East-Med Alliance and maybe the dissolution of NATO will make them realize that they have more in common with Israel and Greece than they think they do. If Italy were to join then that would create a powerful naval and air deterrence of free countries against aggressors in the eastern Mediterranean. The addition of Malta, a small but strategically important country south of Sicily would provide naval bases that could control the sea lanes between north Africa and Europe helping to stem illegal migration and Turkish attempts to control those same lanes. Malta also brings with it a history of defeating Suleiman the Magnificent in a four month siege when the Ottomans tried to conquer this important island. As we stated before, the United States as a “midwife” to alliances cannot instruct countries on their own national interests. That means that allies of the United States will clash but America must always come down on the side of the free countries and not the revanchist power – in this case, Turkey.

There are of course other regional alliances that can come into being and a remake of the post-WWII world is in order. The end of the cold war created economic booms across the globe raising hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, but recent decades have seen an increase in terror and tyranny and that itself needs to be dealt with. If not by the United States alone then by the US along with the regional alliances that the Strategy Paper has highlighted and we have demarcated (partially) here. But concepts like “territorial integrity” (see Syria, Somalia and the rest of Africa) and “sovereignty” have lost their moral imperative as they are used as excuses by tyrants (and their enablers at the UN) to further their cruelty. One of the faults of the old “liberal international order” has been allowing tyrannies the same rights and respect as free countries. During the Cold War, when nuclear war loomed, this might have made sense but after the fall of the Soviet Union these “principles” have created more harm than good.

In the National Security Strategy of the administration, the words “free” and “freedom” appear twenty times, but never in the context of an alliance of free countries. While it speaks of freedom of religion and speech and free markets it never speaks of the need to put allies that are free ahead of friends that are not free. Allies are those countries that share values and will come to your aid because of that. Friends, in international affairs, are those that look to short-term gain and have no desire to further your values or interests. There is no reason that the United States, in its current fiscal condition needs to fight the fight of freedom around the world alone, but neither can it abandon that fight in the pursuit of short-term contracts or frivolous causes.

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of the author, and not necessarily the opinions reflected by angrymetatraders.com or its associated parties.

You can follow Ira Slomowitz via The Angry Demagogue on Substack https://iraslomowitz.substack.com/ 

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Crude Oil: A Guess from the Underbelly On What Happens Next

by with No Comment AssetsBehavioral SentimentFeatured Highlights

Crude Oil: A Guess from the Underbelly On What Happens Next

Why has the WTI Crude Oil Spot price remained relatively calm? The war between Israel and Iran has been going on per this latest violent phase since Friday the 13th. While tensions have been high between the two nations from the 7th of October 2023 in a very outward manner, and missiles were fired from Iran towards Israel on two separate dates in 2024 which then featured Israeli retaliation, the past handful of days is a new escalation.

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WTI Crude Oil Spot Price Six Month Chart as of 18 June 2025

Day traders of WTI Crude Oil need to understand that large players in the energy sector have a vast amount of experience and intel regarding production and supply worldwide when they make their buying and selling decisions. However, the biggest oil traders do not always share the same political viewpoints, except to say most large players in the energy sector practice the art of realpolitik. Day traders of WTI Crude Oil should try to get into the minds of the real movers of WTI Crude Oil via realpolitik considerations.

As of this writing the price for WTI Crude Oil is around 73.930 Spot, late yesterday it did move higher to within sight of the 75.750 USD mark – this when information that President Trump is considering a U.S military strike on Iran heightened. Traders need to understand Spot Crude Oil and Futures pricing can be different. The current value of WTI Spot is higher than the Futures pricing because of the short and near-term known risks.

However, volatility in WTI Crude Oil Spot has remained fairly muted, almost tame as Israel and Iran wage war. Other spot energy prices like Brent and Natural Gas are being affected directly too because of shifts in behavioral sentiment. But again, the prices within the energy sector have remained calm considering what is at stake for global economics. Here are points that may be affecting the WTI Crude Oil landscape and energy complex, which some large traders may be contemplating:

  • It is highly likely the U.S has told Israel not to harm Iranian Oil production or supply sites, including shipping.

  • The U.S does not want the price of WTI to jump rapidly because of the current war between Israel and Iran.

  • Inflation would be a scrouge for the global economy, not to mention President Trump’s ambitions.

  • Even though the U.S has its own energy supply, the price of WTI is affected by behavioral sentiment within the global Crude Oil complex.

  • Meaning conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere always cause ripple affects, even if Crude Oil is flowing freely in the U.S via its own production.

  • The U.S doesn’t want China to be given a reason to consider becoming an open belligerent in the Middle East war.

  • China gets a lot of Crude Oil from Iran. The stated percentage is around 15% of its total supply, but it could be more if Iran sends oil to other locations and then reroutes supply to China afterwards.

The U.S not only wants to keep China calm about its energy supply, but also doesn’t want to give China an excuse to escalate political or military tensions elsewhere – read Taiwan.

As an aside there are a lot facts and rumors coming from China, highlighting that a powerplay is emerging between competing factions for leadership in China’s military, this may include the authority that Xi Jinping has too. China will be conducting Politburo meetings in the coming weeks that will get plenty of attention via Beijing analysts. If U.S intelligence knows an internal political fight is taking place in China, they will want to keep China calm regarding external considerations and not give China excuses to act. Concerns regarding the Middle East as a justification for more Chinese actions against Taiwan in some type of economic political/ military theatre is a threat.

By telling Israel not to attack Iranian oil infrastructure, this allows the U.S to placate China. Only if Iran were to attack U.S infrastructure – including military assets or interests in the Persian Gulf via attacks on Gulf States like the UAE, Bahrain or Saudi Arabia would the U.S consider retribution against Iranian Crude Oil.

While the U.S has an interest in global politics certainly, it also wants to maintain a stable global economic environment. President Trump knows this and so does his cabinet supposedly. The Federal Reserve meets later today and they will certainly speak about uncertainty regarding inflation. Whether or not they mention the Middle East war will be interesting.

Thus, it is likely the U.S will only allow an attack on Iranian Crude Oil production and supply if it has been directly threatened. And this is where it gets potentially more interesting for Crude Oil traders. It appears likely the U.S will get involved directly in Iran by hitting known Iranian nuclear facilities deep underground with heavy U.S ordinance. If the U.S does attack Iran via B2s using heavy bombs, how will Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps react?

Will the existing IRGC allow for the destruction of its nuclear ambitions and accept that it will have to prepare for a new political environment in which their power will likely be challenged by not reacting? Or will those in power of the IRGC double down on stupidity and attack U.S assets with some of the Iranian military weaponry that still remains? An attack on U.S ‘interests’ would risk aggravating the U.S more – giving the U.S reasons to attack Iranian economic infrastructure which is mostly Crude Oil, and likely close the door on the chances of the IRGC to survive after the war concludes.

Things often do not work out via political and military outlooks. The law of unintended consequences is always a danger. The end game is quickly approaching for Iran’s current leadership. The U.S and Israel also hopefully have taken this into account. Recent outcomes in Iraq and Afghanistan have not gone as planned for the U.S when seeking a serene endgame.

As an example, it might be better not to eliminate the current Ayatollah Khamenei, and allow the people of Iran an opportunity to remove him if they want. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and its various factions are probably eyeing what will come after a capitulation. There will be a fight for survival politically and a leadership vacuum.

The IRGC fiefdom gets most of its money from Crude Oil revenues. It is quite possible in a forward looking manner the IRGC may choose not to risk having the U.S ruin Iran’s one giant economic asset, thinking rightly or wrongly that they can continue to profit from Crude Oil the day after the war ends.

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Quick Hits: Inflation, USD, China and U.S Trade and WTI

by with No Comment AMT MarketsBehavioral SentimentFeatured Highlights

Quick Hits: Inflation, USD, China and U.S Trade and WTI

Yesterday’s weaker than anticipated CPI data from the U.S cements the realization that inflation is eroding in the States statistically in a rather consistent fashion. Today’s PPI numbers will be watched, but yesterday’s results clearly show the Federal Reserve has been far too cautious.

Media reported yesterday’s inflation results differently showing bias as some pointed out that inflation rose, compared to some outlets that showed it came in less than expected. Bottom line – inflation has been below expectations consistently and tariff concerns as of yet have not killed the U.S economy with higher prices. The Fed’s insistence on being cautious are comparable to the instincts of an overly protective parent. Day traders need to understand their perceptions are in danger of being affected by folks with confirmation bias.

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EUR/USD Three Month Chart as of 12th June 2025

The EUR/USD climbed above the 1.15000 level again yesterday confirming mid-term outlook for a weaker USD based on the notion the Federal Reserve will have to lower the Federal Funds Rate exists. While perhaps kicking and screaming against their desires to remain hawkish, the Fed will start feeling the heat to act. Next week’s FOMC meeting is unlikely to be the actual date. However, financial institutions have certainly been leaning into a weaker USD since April, and the upwards trajectory in values by major currencies against the USD may prove to be a solid baseline via support prices moving forward.

Certainly, day traders should consider the notion that larger traders have bet against the USD already, thus leaving the door open to the potential of reversals. Yet, mid-term price levels are what financial institutions are gearing their outlooks towards via cash forward transactions for commercial companies. If financial institutions believe the Fed will have to indicate the potential of a rate cut not only in July, but another one in September this could spur on additional USD weakness. Folks should also consider the notion that the White House won’t be against a somewhat weaker USD in order to help U.S manufacturers and producers export.

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USD/CNY Six Month Chart as of 12th June 2025

U.S stock indices didn’t climb on the results of the China tariff news proclaiming a working agreement has been attained over the past two days. Perhaps markets are inclined to believe there will be more fireworks regarding rhetoric from the U.S and China over the coming months – which appears logical given the circumstances between the two nations.

While rare earth metals got the headlines, there appears to be plenty of line items in the tariff negotiations that still must be worked on. The announcement that the deadline has been pushed back again, this time until the 9th of August shows that talks are making progress – but slowly. Red lines keep getting erased.

Financial markets reacted rather passively to the U.S and China news, seemingly indicating larger players are now focused on other matters, and funds have played most of their cards regarding the China and U.S saga via their existing trading positions. Noteworthy, is the fact, the USD/CNY has reacted in a rather correlated fashion with the broad Forex market the past six months. For all the talk about a catastrophe for China and U.S trade, the USD/CYN has behaved quite well, showing the Chinese government is playing a long game against President Trump and doesn’t want to create a huge firefight via currency manipulation accusations.

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WTI Crude Oil Five Day Chart as of 12 June 2025

Middle East Escalation: WTI Crude Oil jumped late yesterday as news quickly filtered through social circles of embassy evacuations in various proximities within reach of Iran. The loud whispers certainly caused the price of the commodity to surge to almost $67.75 last night, but this morning’s values suggest some deep breaths have been taken as WTI trades near $66.45.

For options traders who want to buy cheap calls on WTI, they will likely have to look several months out and speculate on military escalation under rather speculative circumstances. If traders want an idea of what larger players are doing in options they can use CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) info to get some thoughts on positioning pattens in WTI Crude Oil calls and puts. The call options did get more expensive last night – meaning that some large traders are hedging against the threat of higher WTI Crude Oil prices because they are likely leaning into cheaper oil for the time being, or they are betting on the price of the commodity to rise if chaos breaks out in the Middle East.

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An Expanding Axis – Will Egypt and Pakistan Become Members?

by with No Comment Behavioral SentimentBusinessFeatured Highlights

An Expanding Axis - Will Egypt and Pakistan Become Members?

Opinion: The following article is commentary and its views are solely those of the author. This article was first published the 26th of May via The Angry Demagogue.

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China seems to be taking advantage of the transition from the Obama-Biden appeasement based foreign policy to the Trump commercial based system. Whereas Obama-Biden had no problem punishing allies that dared to oppose the US-EU appeasement and woke revolution, Trump is looking to create alliances based on commerce – and threatens allies that don’t go along. While the Obama-Biden policy failed utterly and arguably caused the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the Trump administration seems to be playing for time as it restructures the global security order.

China however does not seem to care to wait and are stretching their sway not only in the South China Sea but westward towards the Middle East. The four member Axis – Russia, China, Iran and North Korea seems to be expanding to other countries with strong military dictatorships. Egypt and Pakistan will be the next members of the Axis. While much of China’s belt and road policy deals with bankrupting poor, weak countries, they seem now to concentrate on strong military dictatorships. Egypt and Pakistan are being pried from the western camp as we speak.

Pakistan has, for awhile not been firmly in the western camp. It was a cold war U.S ally as India, while democratic, sided with the Soviets on most international issues. While the US was busy in Afghanistan, the Pakistanis played double agent. Now that the U.S is not in the region and the U.S and India have become closer, Pakistan is now firmly in the Chinese camp.

In addition to Pakistan, Egypt becoming the next major member of the Axis.

Let’s take a few steps back and examine the burgeoning relationship between Egypt – a military dictatorship and Communist China. As we have written China and Egypt had joint military maneuvers that included deliberate violations of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty guaranteed by the United States. Egypt, in thumbing its nose not only at Israel but at the United States, allowed Chinese planes to approach the Israeli border in order to test Israeli reaction to a possible invasion. Multiple Chinese military cargo jets flew in undisclosed hardware in the days leading up to the maneuvers.

Three more Chinese Y-20 cargo planes landed in Egypt last week again, carrying unknown hardware. At least one of these planes came from Pakistan. Egypt also seems to be signing major arms deals with France as Macron reeks of desperation in his attempt to remain relevant – but a de Gaulle he is not, and he will not be able to create a force or policy independent of the U.S. Egypt will be glad to take advanced French weaponry while it creates a stronger alliance with China.

Back to Pakistan one has to wonder if the Pakistan-Indian flareup a prelude to what can happen in other theatres – or worse, a purposeful conflagration to test Chinese weapons systems in actual combat and keep the West on its back feet? According to most reports they were able to shoot down between 3 and 5 of France’s most advanced Rafal fighters without even entering Indian territory. The confrontation started with a heinous terrorist attack against Indians in Kashmir by a terror group associated with the Pakistani armed forces. India claims that Pakistan is directly involved in the attack. If so, this would not have been the first one.

The downing of the Indian French built Rafal fighters by Pakistan’s Chinese produced 10-C was, according to expert reports, not just or even mainly superior piloting but with a Chinese strategy and technology that includes all aspects of air power – including recognition of the target, locking on and attack from distances in what an American air expert called a perfect air based killing machine. This would seem to be the first real test of Chinese advanced air-power and it something that needed to be done before any invasion of Taiwan. This may not test their own pilots but it does test the strategy and the technology.

China has a main medium term goal here and it is not a secret. They are planning to take Taiwan by force and need to make sure their soldiers, sailors and hardware are up to the job. They have seen how poorly the Russian army has performed and have seen how Israel has dismantled Iran’s defenses and swatted away Iran’s offensive attacks. China has not fought a major war for decades and for all the advances they say they have made – all have been untested. Until now.

China will not risk a war with India itself but would be more than happy to have its proxy involved. Chinese fighters and their new “over the horizon” missiles are key in their plans to deter the U.S from defending Taiwan – or in defeating U.S naval airpower if the U.S does get actively involved. However, as close as French technology is to America’s it is not the same and the one country that seems to have taken U.S technology to the next level is Israel. How would Chinese weaponry due against American arms in the hands of an air force equivalent in skill and bravery to the American air forces? That has yet to be tested but that brings us back to Egypt. Is it in China’s interests for Egypt to make a major break with the U.S at China’s urging much as they made a break with the Soviet Union at America’s urging? Of course. Would that mean that China might help Egypt provoke a military confrontation with Israel in order to test Chinese arms and relieve pressure on Iran? Maybe.

On to Iran then, where it does not seem that the Americans or Israelis understand the nature of the Iranian-Chinese relationship. Not only does China get the bulk of its oil (subsidized) from Iran but they have just completed a rail link from Xinjiang, China to Teheran, Iran – running through four countries. This rail line can ship oil as well as other cargo, cutting into the American (and Indian) naval superiority around the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. The assumption by military planners has always been that the U.S can cut off Chinese access to oil, if necessary. That is no longer the case.

China is not standing still – they are expanding their axis of dictatorships to countries in which the army is in control. Pakistan and Egypt qualify. Iran, while a theocracy is controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. No matter the “deal” that the Trump administration negotiates with Iran they will not be pried away from Iran. China has more to offer an ideological dictatorship then commercial deals with the United States. What the alleged realists in foreign policy refuse to understand is that dictatorships have no interest in commercial success if it weakens their grip on power. They are interested in deals that enrich their regimes since that also strengthens their grip on their people.

The trillion of so dollars in deals that the U.S has now made with the Persian Gulf states ensures that America remains a player in the middle east. Those who think that the Mideast is a tertiary region at best – after Asia and South America – need to rethink their strategies. As China closes in on control of the world from the Pacific to the Mediterranean the U.S is left with just two military powers it can depend on – Israel and India – to help defend its old/new commercial interests. It is not only oil – it is not Boeing jets, Nvidia chips and many other products that are moving from the US to the Gulf as opposed from the Gulf to the U.S. The U.S is no longer a commercial client of the Gulf states but the country who needs to protect its clients. The relationship has changed but the security relationship has only gotten more important.

The addition of Egypt and Pakistan to the Axis means that the Chinese threat has expanded. They are not giving up on Taiwan, nor are they giving up on South America and the Pacific Ocean but rather, China is using its experience as a dictatorship to strengthen ties with other freedom hating countries. We can all pretend that values and culture don’t matter, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t. This Axis is one where the interest of each member is to stay in power, force its will on its people and enrich itself at the expense of its people. This is an Axis, not only of the unfree, but of those who need to eradicate freedom to “thrive”.

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of the author, and not necessarily the opinions reflected by angrymetatraders.com or its associated parties.

You can follow Ira Slomowitz via The Angry Demagogue on Substack https://iraslomowitz.substack.com/ 

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New Alternatives for Regional Alliances & Global Effects?

by with No Comment Behavioral SentimentBusinessFeatured Highlights

New Alternatives for Regional Alliances & Global Effects?

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Opinion: The following article is commentary and its views are solely those of the author. This article was first published the 14th of March, 2025 via The Angry Demagogue.

There is so much going on that it really is difficult to keep up. Israel is at the center of many of the regional developments, as would be expected. But it is not just Israel as Israel, but Israel as an ally of the United States that is interesting. The Syria problem we have written about and it is still not clear what the Trump administration’s policy is there as they look skeptically but hopefully at Al-Julani’s Syria. In our opinion that decision will be made for them, since the chances that Al-Julani has changed his stripes to a Western democrat is small and even if we are wrong there – the armed Jihadist groups that he needs to control seem more interested in ridding Syria of ‘heretics’ than stabilizing the country.

Lebanon has changed enough for the United States and Israel to take chances. While it is too bad that Israel did not do more in ridding the country of Hezbollah, the fact that Syria is no longer part of the Shiite crescent means that they are isolated and not able to get funding and arms from Iran with the same ease. What is important about the current Lebanese government is that Hezbollah is not a part of it. That does not leave them powerless, but it allows the government to act more independently. The Lebanese Shiites, under Hezbollah and the less but still militant Amal, will have to rethink their loyalty to these two organizations. At the least, it should move Amal away from their stronger partner.

Iran now has no land route to Hezbollah and will have a harder time arming the Houthis, too. But it is in Iraq that they are facing problems which could cause as much damage to their projection of power as did the loss of Syria. Due to US pressure, Iraq has stopped buying Iranian electricity although they can still buy gas. It seems that the US is giving Iraq some time to find alternatives to Iranian gas and the Iraqi government is moving away from Iran on other issues too and are trying to get rid of Iran’s Shiite militias.

But the most interesting thing to happen is Israel’s attempt to strengthen America’s relationship with Azerbaijan, a country that Israel is in close contact with regarding Iran. Israel has always been rumored to plan to use Azeri air force bases in a possible attack on Iran. The Azeri official responsible for regional development was in Israel last month and is trying to bridge differences between Israel and Turkey. The Azeri’s next stop after Israel was to Turkey. Steve Witkoff is reported to have stopped in Baku after his visit to Moscow.

An Azeri company has also bought rights to Israel’s Tamar gas field. Israel currently gets oil from Azerbaijan via a pipeline that goes through Turkey so the energy relationship is strong and longstanding between Israel and Azerbaijan. It seems that Turkey’s relationship with Azerbaijan is more important to them than their animosity towards Israel – probably because the Azeris and Armenians are enemies. It seems that sometimes not only friendships have to be ranked but enemies, too.

Trump’s game with Ukraine is not necessarily to my taste but it could be that there is something much bigger going on here and that is connecting Israel, Russia, Central Asia and Turkey to a grand alliance with the United States. I don’t think that Trump will succeed in pulling Russia away from Iran and China and that Erdogan’s Turkey will not give up their dream of destroying Israel. But what if the Iranian regime falls after a combination of harsh sanctions, economic collapse and Israeli military attacks? What if Iran is pulled away from the alliance leaving Russia with just China? What if a Russian base in Syria is dependent upon their moving away from China?

Last year the Axis held a near continuous land bridge from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. China was moving into Russia’s “sphere of influence” in the “Stans” of Central Asia with their economic bear hugs. This was something that the Biden administration ignored, but could be a bigger headache for Putin than a well armed but non-NATO Ukraine with American businessmen instead of soldiers as a tripwire.

Are we giving too much credit to Trump and his foreign policy team and to Israel’s influence in the expanded region that reaches beyond Syria? Is there more going on than we know or less?

On October 7 and the days that followed, the Biden Administration was sure that Israel was in such a panic that it would agree to anything, and they could force the Obama Middle East of a hegemonic Iran and a Palestinian state down Israel’s throats – and overthrow Netanyahu as an extra. None of those things happened.

Only a fool would predict what will be in a year, but what we have discussed above is one scenario no one would have considered even six months ago. The post WWII world looked nothing like the world of 1937, and the post WWIII world (the one we wrote about a year ago and may or may not have happened!) will look nothing like September 2023 – no matter how hard the UN yells and screams.

Could Israel and Azerbaijan be the keys to a realigned world?

It is against my nature to be optimistic, especially since Israel is still not done with Gaza, the hostages are not yet home and the internal politics are reaching levels that border on a soft coup.

However, while we don’t know where the aces are, we know that the Obama-Biden jokers are no longer in the deck.

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