The Third Gulf War: America’s Strategic Overreach and the Rise of a New Order

The US–Israel war against Iran is accelerating the decline of American global dominance, exposing strategic overreach and weakening its alliances. As the conflict reshapes energy flows and security dynamics, Russia and China are capitalising on the chaos to accelerate a shift toward a multipolar world order.

The Trump 2.0 administration is pursuing a ‘conservative internationalist’ foreign policy approach that contends that the US will now opt for personal interests – even at the cost of its allies. No matter who gets thrown under the bus, the so-called American national interest would be preferred under a zero-sum approach. From Venezuela to Greenland and now Iran, the US is acting like a bull in a China shop.

After illegally abducting Nicolás Maduro of  Venezuela – a move that was labelled as insanity by the masses – the confidence of the Trump administration was boosted in the sense that they could repeat this event anywhere in the world, i.e., change the leadership of a country with no questions asked: that’s what they did in Iran. People were surprised at the lack of a reaction by Russia when Maduro was captured. However, Russia was likely just waiting for Trump to make his next blunder, which could potentially become self-destructive for the US.

Lo and behold, the US-Israel joint military operation against Iran has set fire to the Middle East, becoming a strategic battle point that might actually cement the shifting of the world order from the West to the East.

On 28 February 2026, the US and Israel launched joint operations, named ‘Operation Epic Fury’ and ‘Operation Roaring Lion,’ respectively, against Iran. As a result of the ongoing war in the Middle East, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been martyred, along with top IRGC leadership. However, the war is still very much ongoing, as the Iranian regime under its “Mosaic” doctrine is inflicting heavy blows on Israel and the US military infrastructure in the Middle East. Iran has deliberately closed the........

© New Eastern Outlook