US Aircraft Carriers Gather in the Middle East! Will They Remove Iran's Khamenei? 'Why Trump Hesitates to Attack' / The US's True Intentions in Selectively Striking Only Iran and Venezuela | Dr. Cho Han-beom, Senior Research Fellow at Korea Institute for National Unification

Summary

Dr. Cho Han-beom, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, discusses why the US is deploying aircraft carriers toward Iran and why President Trump has not launched a strike. He argues that US actions against Venezuela and Iran are primarily about energy hegemony and oil leverage over China and Russia, while Iran is far riskier to attack than Venezuela because of its size, internal security forces, and regional retaliation risk. The interview is mainly geopolitical, with the clearest market-relevant thread being crude oil and Middle East escalation risk.

• US carrier deployment toward Iran raises speculation about a possible strike or coercive pressure campaign.
• Cho argues the US justification of democracy and human rights masks an energy-hegemony motive.
• Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves and Iran the third-largest, and both export heavily to China.
• Control over those oil flows could give Washington leverage over China and Russia while helping keep inflation low.
• Cho says Iran is different from Venezuela: it lacks a cooperative insider, has strong internal security forces, and could retaliate regionally.
• Iran's protests are described as economically driven and broader than the 2022 hijab protests, with merchant-class participation and demands against Khamenei.
• A full US invasion of Iran is seen as unlikely; limited strikes or continued pressure could increase regional uncertainty.