Iran challenges US dollar, says oil must be sold in Chinese yuan, as it targets US corporations episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 17, 2026 · 45 MIN

Iran challenges US dollar, says oil must be sold in Chinese yuan, as it targets US corporations

from Geopolitical Economy Report · host Ben Norton

In response to the US-Israeli war, Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the most important oil chokepoint on Earth, causing energy prices to skyrocket. However, Tehran is allowing Chinese tankers through, and says other ships can pass if they agree to sell oil in China's currency, the renminbi (aka yuan). Iran is also targeting offices of major American corporations, and wants to force them out of the Middle East (West Asia), while trying to expel US military bases. Ben Norton explains how this war affects the petrodollar system, and the dominance of the dollar as the global reserve currency. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2zBWcGahuc Topics 0:00 Iran war causes energy crisis 0:29 Oil price skyrockets 0:56 Fears of economic crisis 2:07 Strait of Hormuz 3:21 Iran permits Chinese oil tankers 4:17 Iran says: sell oil in RMB, not USD 4:43 Dollar dominance & petrodollar 6:28 Asymmetric warfare 6:59 US military bases in Middle East 7:47 Iran strikes CIA stations 8:46 Iran hits US refueling planes 9:10 US empire underestimated Iran 10:32 Iran targets US corporations 12:03 Economic warfare 13:07 (CLIP) Scott Bessent on sanctions 14:05 New leader Mojtaba Khamenei 15:21 Iran strategy spelled out 17:08 Tehran wants revenge 18:51 Yemen, Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab 22:16 US war on Yemen in 2025 23:23 Anti-colonial wars 24:16 Trump sends more US troops 25:21 Iran's Kharg Island 26:21 Global energy crisis 27:24 Trump wants military coalition 29:02 Iran allows Chinese ships 29:59 US dollar dominance 30:37 US current account deficit 31:20 Exorbitant privilege of dollar 32:19 Dedollarization 32:52 West seized Russia's reserves 33:49 Central banks buy gold 34:16 US Treasury securities 34:47 Oil sales in dollars 36:26 Trump threatened BRICS 37:16 Iran promotes dedollarization 37:42 China & Russia de-dollarize 38:33 India 39:34 UAE 40:18 Saudi Arabia 41:04 Iran & Indonesia join BRICS 42:14 Iran proposes BRICS currency 42:31 Divisions within BRICS 43:12 Struggle against imperialism 45:12 Outro

In response to the US-Israeli war, Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the most important oil chokepoint on Earth, causing energy prices to skyrocket. However, Tehran is allowing Chinese tankers through, and says other ships can pass if they agree to sell oil in China's currency, the renminbi (aka yuan). Iran is also targeting offices of major American corporations, and wants to force them out of the Middle East (West Asia), while trying to expel US military bases. Ben Norton explains how this war affects the petrodollar system, and the dominance of the dollar as the global reserve currency. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2zBWcGahuc Topics 0:00 Iran war causes energy crisis 0:29 Oil price skyrockets 0:56 Fears of economic crisis 2:07 Strait of Hormuz 3:21 Iran permits Chinese oil tankers 4:17 Iran says: sell oil in RMB, not USD 4:43 Dollar dominance & petrodollar 6:28 Asymmetric warfare 6:59 US military bases in Middle East 7:47 Iran strikes CIA stations 8:46 Iran hits US refueling planes 9:10 US empire underestimated Iran 10:32 Iran targets US corporations 12:03 Economic warfare 13:07 (CLIP) Scott Bessent on sanctions 14:05 New leader Mojtaba Khamenei 15:21 Iran strategy spelled out 17:08 Tehran wants revenge 18:51 Yemen, Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab 22:16 US war on Yemen in 2025 23:23 Anti-colonial wars 24:16 Trump sends more US troops 25:21 Iran's Kharg Island 26:21 Global energy crisis 27:24 Trump wants military coalition 29:02 Iran allows Chinese ships 29:59 US dollar dominance 30:37 US current account deficit 31:20 Exorbitant privilege of dollar 32:19 Dedollarization 32:52 West seized Russia's reserves 33:49 Central banks buy gold 34:16 US Treasury securities 34:47 Oil sales in dollars 36:26 Trump threatened BRICS 37:16 Iran promotes dedollarization 37:42 China & Russia de-dollarize 38:33 India 39:34 UAE 40:18 Saudi Arabia 41:04 Iran & Indonesia join BRICS 42:14 Iran proposes BRICS currency 42:31 Divisions within BRICS 43:12 Struggle against imperialism 45:12 Outro

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Iran challenges US dollar, says oil must be sold in Chinese yuan, as it targets US corporations

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This episode was published on March 17, 2026.

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In response to the US-Israeli war, Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the most important oil chokepoint on Earth, causing energy prices to skyrocket. However, Tehran is allowing Chinese tankers through, and says other ships can pass if they agree...

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