Defense Alliance: Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan &... Iran?! | EYES ON GEOPOLITICS
August 24, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readThe Limits of Sanctions and the Shifting Alliances of the Middle East
On this episode of Eyes on Geopolitics, the panel—Amy Milburn, Mick Mulroy, Jonathan Hackett, and Demetri Kontakos—spent most of their time on two intertwined stories: the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions on Iran and a new defense pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, with rumors that Iran might be invited to join. The conversation was skeptical about sanctions working on their own, and deeply curious about what the new alliance actually means.
Why Sanctions Alone Probably Won't Work
The panel was unified in their assessment that the U.S. sanctions regime against Iran, while real in its effects, is not a standalone solution. Jonathan Hackett made the point most directly: "Sanctions alone can never solve a problem." He compared them to Prohibition—demand doesn't disappear, it just finds illegal pathways. The shadow fleet, he noted, involves roughly 2,500 to 3,000 vessels moving billions of barrels of oil each year. Iran simply repaints ships, changes their names, and falsifies bills of lading. "They'll get caught, but they'll get caught so slowly that it won't even matter," Hackett said.
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of The Team House
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 Defense Alliance: Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan &... Iran?! | EYES ON GEOPOLITICS
- 2 (02:41) **Houthi Tanker Claim Debunked** - The panel discusses how a report of 40 tankers through the Strait of Hormuz was quickly contradicted by satellite tracking data
- 3 (05:35) **Upcoming Secondary Sanctions on Iran** - Secretary Bassett is expected to announce new sanctions targeting Chinese teapot refineries and the shadow fleet
- 4 (07:49) **China's Legal Nullification of US Sanctions** - China has issued an unprecedented prohibition order against US sanctions on its soil
- 5 (11:51) **Why Sanctions Are Easily Evaded** - John explains the structural weaknesses in how US sanctions are designed and enforced
- 6 (14:09) **The Shadow Fleet Problem** - The panel examines the massive scale of the shadow fleet moving Iranian and Russian oil
- 7 (17:02) **Iran's Domestic Inflation Crisis** - John breaks down how Iran's monetary policy drives inflation far beyond what sanctions alone cause
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Support the show on Patreon:⬇️
https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse
Subscribe to our newsletter!!!!
https://teamhousepodcast.kit.com/join
Jack's news outlet:⬇️
https://thehighside.substack.com/
Find Jon Hackett here:⬇️
Jon's Twitter:
https://x.com/jonathanhackett
Jon's LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackett
Jon's books:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0C5L659N5?ccs_id=e11a2062-f8d3-498e-bfd7-7d2f3869caf6
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackett
Twitter: https://x.com/jonathanhackett
Check out Mick's new podcast here:⬇️
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/at/podcast/pub-and-porch-applied-stoicism/id1836955475
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/1k3QPmkAMwnGJxMLDwUSSd?si=n6piIu8XRcag1Z0K43A3bQ
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/@UCd0Hq6QFk8CoTu5j-VU0Ong
Find Mick Mulroy here:
Fogbow ⬇️
https://fogbow.com/
Lobo Institute ⬇️
https://www.loboinstitute.org/
Twitter ⬇️
https://x.com/mickmulroy?s=21&t=-Ze3F_Ix2vlJ18KFvORTCA
LinkedIn ⬇️
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-patrick-mulroy-31198b52/
Whitefish security summit ⬇️
https://whitefishsecuritysummit.com
Find Marc P here:
https://x.com/Mpolymer
Find Andy Milburn here:
Twitter ⬇️
https://twitter.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2Fandymilburn8
LinkedIn ⬇️
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmilburn2023
Substack ⬇️
https://amilburn.substack.com/
Andy’s book ⬇️
https://www.amazon.com/When-Tempest-Gathers-Mogadishu-Operations
"Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio"
00:00 – Start
01:16 – Iran, Hormuz & the Information War
02:41 – Are Oil Tankers Actually Getting Through?
04:18 – New U.S. Sanctions Target Iran’s Oil Network
08:32 – Can China Simply Ignore U.S. Sanctions?
13:14 – Iran’s Shadow Fleet Problem
16:05 – Iran’s Economy Is Under Massive Pressure
20:55 – How Iran Moves Money Around Sanctions
25:31 – The Financial Networks Keeping Iran Alive
31:03 – Ukraine Is Running Out of Patriot Missiles
34:53 – Saudi Arabia, Turkey & Pakistan’s New Defense Pact
37:37 – Could Iran Actually Join the Alliance?
40:36 – Is the Iran Alliance Story an Information Operation?
45:32 – Turkey, Israel & the Fight for Regional Influence
54:26 – Is Russia Preparing for the Next Phase Against Europe?
56:56 – Russia’s Cyber Threat to Europe
1:00:10 – How Russia Could Cripple European Infrastructure
More from this podcast
The Team House →