Bankless Trump's Grand Strategy: Iran, China & The New World Order | Kamran Bokhari
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Mar 18, 2026 
Kamran Bokhari, a geopolitical analyst at the New Lines Institute, maps Trump’s grand strategy through Iran, China, and Russia. He digs into retrenchment, burden-sharing, and why limited force can fit an anti-war posture. The conversation also hits Venezuela, Cuba, Israel’s aims, Marco Rubio’s rise, and why AI, space, and Ukraine are key signals to watch.
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Iran War As A Bridge To US Retrenchment
- Kamran Bokhari says the Iran strike fits a wider US retrenchment plan, not a return to open-ended intervention.
- The goal is burden-sharing with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Israel after neutralizing Iran's nuclear, proxy, and missile threats enough to hand regional management off.
Why No More Wars Still Passed Through Iran
- Bokhari argues Trump cannot jump straight from intervention-heavy policy to no-more-wars without first closing dangerous loose ends like Iran.
- He says Trump boxed himself in politically because diplomacy angers hawks, while limited force alarms the anti-war MAGA bloc.
China Benefited From Iran But Did Not Drive The War
- Bokhari argues China benefited from Iran, but that benefit was secondary to Washington's immediate need to neutralize a regional spoiler.
- He says Beijing used Iran more as leverage than as a core asset, and Chinese commitments like the 2021 $400 billion MOU never fully materialized.