“Operation Economic Outcast” is the catchy title that Trump and his administration have chosen to call their plan of economic strangulation against Iran, which was announced last week and which the world has received with a global raising of eyebrows. Many call it “Operation Economic Fury,” in ironic allusion to the pompous “Operation Epic Fury” that according to Trump was supposed to bring hell down upon the ayatollahs' regime. It is true that in the first offensive, the US and Israel managed to assassinate the supreme leader Ali Khamenei in a bombing. But then the regime managed to withstand the blow and Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the deceased, has turned out to be a supreme leader with a fanatical determination as tough as his father's (we recently read in the New Yorker that his government hires foreign assassins to liquidate critics of the regime scattered around the world). It has been fifteen days this Monday since the sixty days that the US and Iran had given themselves in June to “end the war” ended, according to a so-called memorandum of understanding of fourteen points, of which not a single one has been fulfilled. Trump's Gulf War has been a failure, and the attempt to tighten the noose on Iran through economic blockade sounds like a tantrum and a gesture of desperation. More so, when the so-called "Economic Pariah Operation" —which includes a block of sanctions against countries that have commercial relations with Iran— depends almost entirely on China's stance, a buyer of 90% of Iranian oil, and Beijing has already made it clear that its response could be harsh if the US "representatively extends" its threats against Chinese companies trading with Iran. Awaiting a new meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping, the possibility that the American president's intemperance will open a new confrontation with the other great world economy is viewed negatively by everyone. Also by the American electorate, tired of having fuel and the cost of living through the roof as a direct consequence of Trump's foreign policy, as belligerent and expansive as it is erratic and, ultimately, counterproductive.A year ago Trump boasted about having ended seven or eight wars (depending on the day) and went on an endless rant asking to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He didn't get it, but he did manage to have his mistress in Venezuela, María Corina Machado, bring it to him as a gift. As of today, the orange pachyderm's arrogance has subsided a bit, and he faces — now, in November — midterm elections that could cost him control of Congress. Such a blow could have interesting repercussions for Trumpists worldwide: including the Spanish enthusiasts of Trump, PP, and Vox, who face the last year of their term as a kind of springboard to propel them to an electoral victory that, in their opinion, was snatched from them in 2023. But an electoral setback for Trump could also have a revulsive effect in Europe and Latin America.
