Iran Sanctions and Trade

Discussion of US sanctions threats against countries maintaining economic ties with Iran, including reports of Iranian oil tankers near Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka explored barter mechanisms involving Ceylon tea exports to settle oil debt with Iran.

Sri Lanka's out here playing 4D chess with Iran while the US is literally threatening everyone else—basically we're the friend who shows up to the party after being told not to, orders a tea-for-oil smoothie, and acts confused when someone asks why there's a suspicious tanker in the driveway. Meanwhile, the stock market tweets keep dropping like "hey btw the economy exists" between geopolitical hot takes, which is peak "everything's fine 🙃" energy.