The post circulating on X claims that the US attacks Iran just to make money from the Eastern Power!

Recently, a post on the social media platform X has gone viral, with a shocking core argument: it states that if the US actually launches an attack on Iran, the surface reason is the mess in the Middle East, but the real intention is to "harvest" the economic benefits of the Eastern Power across the Pacific. You will find that the logic chain behind this is so tight and seamless that it's chilling.

Imagine this scenario: the Middle East experiences a brief and intense turmoil due to Iran's collapse, and then enters a "controlled stability" under US control. The US can use the previous chaos as an excuse to limit oil exports in specific regions or create artificial transportation bottlenecks with its allies. For the world's largest crude oil importer, the Eastern Power, every irrational surge in oil prices puts pressure on domestic manufacturing inflation and consumes foreign exchange reserves.

Previously, when the US conducted deterrence in the Western Pacific, it always worried about being stretched too thin, needing to divert troops when the Middle East caught fire. Now, if the Middle East becomes the US's "backyard," it can have no worries about the rear and focus all the main forces of the Seventh Fleet, the bombers on Guam, and those expensive long-range anti-ship missiles near the first island chain. This sudden increase in military pressure would force the Eastern Power to increase defense spending, squeezing resources for people's livelihoods and economic development.

This is not just a military action; it's a shrewd economic calculation. By raising the energy costs of the opponent while reducing its own strategic costs, the gap opens up between the two. Of course, there are many variables in between—such as Iran's resilience, the countermeasures of major powers, and the attitudes of countries in the Global South—which could alter the script. But it cannot be denied that this strategic concept of "surrounding Wei to save Zhao" and "killing two birds with one stone" indeed aligns with the current US strategic circles' mindset of "extreme pressure and precise harvesting."

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1858527966361627/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.