TEHRAN- The US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on February 28, and Iran responded by launching attacks on Israel and US-allied states in the Persian Gulf.

The US-Israeli attack was widely condemned by regional neighbors including Iraq, Turkey, and Pakistan, while global powers urged restraint. This military confrontation has not only threatened to ignite a full-scale regional war but has also sent shockwaves through international trade and finance — as explored in the analysis below by China's CGTN.

CGTN wrote in an analysis that the war of the US and Israel against Iran, in addition to causing extensive human and economic costs, is creating fundamental transformations in the main structures of the global economy — structures that for decades have been considered the main pillars of the international financial system.

Strait of Hormuz disruption and its global ripple effects

The Chinese media outlet emphasized that "de-dollarization," as a process aimed at reducing countries' dependence on the dollar, has now become one of the main axes of change in the global economy, and the recent war is playing the role of a catalyst in accelerating this process.

According to this analysis, the sharp decline in ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the significant increase in oil and gas prices have exerted considerable inflationary pressure on the global economy. The Strait of Hormuz is not only a vital route for energy transit but also one of the most important arteries of international trade.

CGTN also reported that Iran's action of charging tolls from some ships in currencies other than the dollar, including the Chinese yuan, could create a practical challenge for the dollar-based financial system and lead to the formation of new models of regional transactions.

Challenging petrodollar-BRICS Plus and alternative payment systems 

The report states that the financial power of the United States is largely dependent on global demand for the dollar- a position that was solidified after World War II when the dollar became the dominant global reserve currency.

However, developments in recent years, including the war in Ukraine and increased efforts within the framework of the BRICS group and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to use alternative currencies, have increasingly challenged this position.

In this context, the development of alternative financial systems to SWIFT — including China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) and Russia's System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) — is expanding as tools to reduce dependence on the Western financial system.

This analysis also emphasizes that the expansion of "BRICS Plus" and the accession of major energy-producing countries could lead to the weakening of the "petrodollar" system, especially if oil and gas transactions are conducted in currencies other than the dollar.

According to analysts, the continuation of this trend may confront the United States with declining global demand for the dollar — an issue that could ultimately lead to higher interest rates and even economic recession in that country.

At the end of its report, CGTN says that de-dollarization is a gradual but already-begun process that, in the long term, could lead to a reduction in US financial influence and, in contrast, strengthen the economic position of the so-called "Global South" countries — a process that, according to the media outlet, the recent war against Iran has accelerated to an unprecedented degree.