The New Dark Age

Saturday, 15 August 2026 — Transition Protocol

Iran has reportedly given Washington a matter of days — not weeks — to change course on the Strait of Hormuz, according to Pakistani and Iranian mediation sources detailed in this Transition Protocol special. In this breaking-news episode, Zulfiqar Ali and Pepe Escobar break down MBS’s second phone call blocking a revamped US strike on Iran, the UAE’s stunning gold-and-cash outreach to Tehran, Pakistan and China’s central role as mediators, and Iran’s readiness — including a reported 2,000-boat swarm fleet — to defend the Strait of Hormuz if diplomacy fails.

Pepe Escobar is a veteran geopolitical analyst and journalist covering Eurasia, BRICS, and multipolar world affairs for over two decades; Zulfiqar Ali hosts Transition Protocol, a source-driven geopolitical and economic analysis show reaching audiences in fourteen languages. This is analysis and source-based reporting — claims marked DEVELOPING or UNVERIFIED are clearly flagged throughout.

Transition Protocol / Power Shift delivers unfiltered, source-driven breakdowns of the biggest shifts in global power — de-dollarization, BRICS, great-power rivalry, and the wars reshaping the multipolar world order. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next emergency episode.