The New Dark Age

The US-Israeli imperialist assault on Iran, launched on February 28, 2026, has immediately exposed the parasitic relationship between monopoly capital and military aggression. Within days of the attack, Brent crude surged 15%, wiping out all the energy cost “victories” Trump had claimed since his January inauguration.

This is not an accident—it is the logic of imperialism.

Lenin teaches us that finance capital seeks domination, not peace. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz—through which 20% of global oil flows—is not merely a tactical consequence of war, but a demonstration of how the imperialist powers hold the global economy hostage to their geopolitical ambitions. The imperialists wail and blame Iran for the closure but the Iranians are merely acting in self defence. The closure of the straits was always likely if the US imperialists followed through on their threats of war. In their supreme arrogance and stupidity they never actually believed that Iran would be able to follow through on its promises. Thanks to the war imposed on Iran by the imperialists while the Pentagon calculates cruise missile trajectories, working families from Detroit to Dhaka are calculating whether they can afford to drive to work.

The current $13/barrel “risk premium” embedded in oil prices represents a tax levied by Wall Street speculators on the global proletariat. Goldman Sachs analysts calmly discuss scenarios where oil reaches $100/barrel, while the Federal Reserve contemplates rate hikes that will further immiserate indebted workers. This is the crisis of overproduction finding its “solution” in destruction and scarcity.

The Asian economies—already squeezed by dollar hegemony—face 0.7% inflation increases. European workers confront natural gas prices potentially exceeding 100 EUR/MWh. And in the United States, diesel is projected to hit $4.45/gallon, crushing small farmers and independent truckers while ExxonMobil shareholders celebrate.

Marx wrote that capital comes into the world dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt. Today we might add: and from every barrel of oil, with the stench of imperialist war.

The closure of Hormuz is being called “the aorta of the circulatory system”—but we must recognize whose blood is being pumped, and whose is being spilled. We must also emphasise here that “globalisation” can very quickly turn upon its creator. Long supply lines, stretched logistics and just in time deliveries of everything including oil supplies have made the imperialist block very vulnerable to the kind of strategy Iran is now pursuing. We in the imperial core nations must be very clear in our discussions with workers that the price rises we are seeing are both the logical outcome of a war of aggression by the imperialists and profiteering by the energy monopolists. It is not the Iranians who ripping us off but “our” wretched ruling class.