Who blinks first? Iran, the Hormuz blockade and the fall of US empire | Laleh Khalili | UNAPOLOGETIC

Laleh Khalili is a professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Sinews of War and Trade and Extractive Capitalism. She is also Iranian-American, with family members displaced by the current war, a scholar with both the expertise and the personal stakes to speak to this moment with rare authority. In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Ashfaaq Carim sits down with Khalili to understand what the US-Israeli war on Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz actually means, not for markets, but for people. They discuss who is winning and who is losing, how Iran has used commercial disruption as a weapon, the deep colonial history that produced this crisis, Israel's periphery strategy and its long alliance with Iran before 1979, and why an empire in decline is always the most dangerous version of itself. UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim. Chapters 0:00 Highlights 1:56 Welcome, Laleh Khalili 4:50 How acute is this crisis? 8:44 Wall Street vs Main Street 14:13 Who is affected and how 26:09 Iran's new weapons of war 38:44 Oil, empire and colonialism 45:11 Israel as America's aircraft carrier 53:06 The periphery strategy 58:55 Imperialism, autocracy & the people 1:06:44 Who blinks first? 1:14:47 China, India and the new Asia 1:18:20 These are not empty places Support stories that matter. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR0fZh5SBxxMNYdg0VzRFkg/join Catch previous episodes of MEE LIVE, our biweekly news programme exploring the stories shaping our world through breaking coverage, expert analysis, and hard-hitting interviews. Originally airing Tuesdays & Thursdays at 12pm ET | 5pm BST Got a story tip or question? Reach us at [email protected] Subscribe to our channel: http://ow.ly/AVlW30n1OWH Subscribe to MEE Telegram channel to stay up to date: https://t.me/MiddleEastEye_TG Middle East Eye Website: https://middleeasteye.net Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@middleeasteye Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/MiddleEastEye Like us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/MiddleEastEye Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye