De-dollarization alert! U.S. doubling down on weaponization of the dollar

The U.S. government continues to ratchet up its use of the dollar as a foreign policy tool, even as the weaponization of the dollar has accelerated de-dollarization. Last Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to effectively ground Iran’s commercial airlines, saying that on Wednesday, Sept. 23, “All the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world.” In pursuit of this goal, Bessent warned that any company or country supporting Iranian airlines could face secondary sanctions and be “knocked out” of the dollar system. “If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with...