Dire Straits is Not Just a Band

Dire Straits is Not Just a Band

From P.I.D. Radio by Derek and Sharon Gilbert

April 18, 2026 · 1h 23m

About this episode

The episode discusses the geopolitical tensions surrounding Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz and its implications for US-China relations.

IRAN HAS decided to play red light, green light with the Strait of Hormuz. Less than 24 hours after President Trump announced the opening of the critical waterway, Iran declared it closed again. Further, two Indian flagged tankers reportedly came under fire from Iranian speedboats. This suggests that negotiations between the US and Iran over a peaceful resolution to Operation Epic Fury are simply a stalling tactic by the Iranian regime, perhaps counting on Democrats winning the midterm elections or even the 2028 presidential election. Given the way Presidents Biden and Obama willingly sent billions of dollars to Tehran, you can hardly blame them. We discuss the bind into which Iran has placed China, which gets up to 20% of its oil imports from the Islamic regime – at a deep discount because Iran has few buyers for its oil due to sanctions. This is exacerbated by China’s loss of access to Venezuelan oil. As a result, China has had to suddenly ramp up its purchases of American oil to roughly $10 billion worth per month. In addition, the United States just signed a defense agreement with Indonesia. That nation sits on the west side of the cap, Strait of Malacca, a waterway even more…

People in this episode

Hosts: Derek Gilbert, Sharon Gilbert

Topics covered

  • Iran
  • US foreign policy
  • oil imports
  • China
  • military agreements
  • geopolitics

Keywords

  • Iran
  • Strait of Hormuz
  • China
  • oil imports
  • US foreign policy
  • geopolitics
  • military agreements

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Iran, China, Indonesia

Places: Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, Panama Canal, Venezuela

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