The First US-China Proxy War? And Why the Market Isn't Ready

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Mar 24, 2026

Guest

Trey Reik

Trey Reik, precious-metals specialist focused on gold and hard assets. David Woo, macro strategist reporting from Israel on geopolitics and economic tradeoffs. Joe Zacks, geopolitical intelligence analyst on Iran and regional risks. They discuss the Iran conflict’s regional stakes, the Strait of Hormuz leverage, U.S.-China proxy dynamics, market pricing of escalation, and why gold and Fed actions matter now.

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INSIGHT

Iran's Leverage Is The Strait Of Hormuz

Joe Zacks says Iran's leverage is the Strait of Hormuz and warns targeting Iranian infrastructure risks wide Gulf retaliation against desalinization and energy facilities.
He notes diplomatic backchannels (Oman) may be buying the U.S. time to avoid escalatory strikes on power plants.

INSIGHT

First US China Proxy War

David Woo argues the Iran conflict is effectively the first US-China proxy war because China and Russia provide intelligence and tech support to Iran.
He cites Iran switching from civilian GPS to China's Baidu navigation and improved drone/missile accuracy as evidence of Chinese backing.

INSIGHT

Markets Still Underprice A Prolonged Ground War

David Woo and others argue markets have not priced in a prolonged boots-on-ground scenario; a visible U.S. amphibious assault with casualties would likely trigger a sharp equity sell-off.
Woo suggests an initial 25 Marine casualties on a beach assault could drop the S&P ~10% by shocking markets into the reality of prolonged conflict.

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💡With the Strait of Hormuz in play and gold fundamentals at inflection points, hard assets have never mattered more. Join Wealthion's Real Assets Community: https://wealthion.com/getready

In this special Iran War panel, Maggie Lake sits down with Academy Securities' geopolitical intelligence expert Joe Zacks, macro strategist David Woo (live from Israel), WindRock's Chris Casey and Wealthion's own Trey Reik. Three weeks in, this war isn't going the way anyone expected. David Woo argues it's become the first US-China proxy war and that Trump has no way out. Joe Zacks warns Iran is an "injured tiger" with leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. And while markets price in rate hikes, Trey reveals the Fed is secretly buying $40 billion a month in Treasury bills. Chris Casey's message to investors: ignore the noise, the only thing that matters is the U.S. $38 trillion in debt.

💡Chris Casey tells investors: keep emotions in check, review your portfolio on a sober basis, and look for buying opportunities. Get a free portfolio review with Chris and the team at WindRock here:

💡GBI Direct - The Best Way to Invest in Physical Gold and Silver: https://gbidirect.com/?aff=WTH

💡Attend Rick Rules’ Natural Resource Symposium in Boca Raton this July, click here for in-person and virtual tickets: https://cvent.me/XOqdLa?via=Wealthion

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