The Owen Jones Podcast Iran: The BIGGEST DEFEAT In US History?
Mar 24, 2026
A brisk look at how a conflict with Iran could signal a wider decline in US global power. Discussion of elite panic, hawkish calls for invasion, and logistical delusions behind ground-war plans. Analysis of Iran’s leverage over the Strait of Hormuz and implications for the petrodollar. Critique of media warmongering and the limited strategic options facing Washington.
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Iran War Reveals US Hegemony Fragility
- The Iran conflict has exposed a structural decline in US global hegemony.
- Owen Jones links control of the Strait of Hormuz and damage to Gulf infrastructure to sudden strategic leverage for Iran over global energy and US policy.
Warmongers Face Blowback And Suez Parallels
- Hawks who pushed for war now panic as the conflict produces strategic blowback.
- Jones cites Seth Cropsey's Wall Street Journal piece arguing that failing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would signal American collapse, mirroring Suez 1956.
Ground Invasion To Reopen Hormuz Is Unwinnable
- Ground invasion to reopen Hormuz is militarily unrealistic and would become a quagmire.
- Jones and quoted analyst Anousha Faruqi explain US force limits: controlling Iran needs far more divisions than the West can field.