00:00Are we looking at a situation here where Russia and China are reveling in the uncertainty that this conflict has
00:11created because it's opening doors for them to counter some of the US influence in the Middle East? Do you
00:19think that that's an issue?
00:20You mean Russia, which is in its fourth or fifth year of an incredibly bloody war?
00:28It is looking like getting some sanction relief, though. It's had sanction relief because the US is so desperate for
00:35some oil.
00:35I don't see Russia as this colossus, and China is certainly an economic challenge to the United States.
00:41I don't see the Chinese Navy coming into the Gulf and trying to open it or trying to stop the
00:46Americans.
00:47And look, of course, they are allies of Iran, and they're going to be happy that Iran is standing up
00:55to the Americans and do your best and stuff like that.
00:58Of course, that's always true. But I think that we kind of exaggerate again, kind of how much Russia can
01:07do and how much China can do.
01:09Certainly in the region, I don't see them projecting power.
01:12I know the Gulf states are furious at what they see as Chinese passivity in the face of Iran attacking
01:21the Gulf states.
01:22Remember, the Gulf states are also major exporters of oil to China.
01:26And so I think that after the war, there's going to be a settling of accounts.
01:31Yes, there are going to be questions asked about the American relationship, but there are also going to be questions
01:36asked about the Chinese relationship.
01:38There are going to be all kinds of questions asked by the Gulf states and others on how best to
01:42defend themselves.
01:43And most importantly, how to make sure that what Iran is doing, closing the Strait of Hormuz, never happens again,
01:51affecting the oil economy of the Arab states.
01:54They're going to be building pipelines, land routes to the Levant, to the Red Sea, all over the place.
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