There can be no war in the Persian Gulf until Wall Street gives its final say so.
If they knew war was going to break out next week the price of oil would soar this week.
Iran has suffucient weapons to protect itself against a conventional attack. They have SS-N-22 and SS-N-26X anti-ship missiles. They have 150 kilometer range rocket artilley. The Iranians also have the Chinese HQ-9 anti-aircraft missile. They can sink the US fleet. The US has troops from US Central Command and AFRICOM stationed in two dozen Muslim nations who would all be slaughtered within days.
The only attack that makes sense would be to launch 100 missiles with 220 kiloton warheads and air burst them so no Iranian missiles can be launched, none of their planes coul fly and none of their rocket artillery can be fired. The second wave would be used against the remaining surface targets and the third wave against hardened underground production facilities.
Only that kind of attack would work well enough to prevent the sacrificing of the American fleet and peotect the free flow of oil from the Persian Gulf.
But that kind of attack has problems. America's War Machine is financed by the kindness of strabgers. China could say NO at any time. Why would they concede Iran's oil to America so they can be ruled bt Washington? Why would 1.3 billion Muslims permit genocide? Why would the the world community permit the Americans to irradiate their children?
If I were the President of China, I would sell ten billion dollars of US Treasuries and buy ten billion dollars of oil and of gold and silver bullion. Then I would say call me when you feel like talking to me as if I were an adult and negotiating a solution. If they did not call after the first hour, I would repeast the sale of the Treasuries and the purchase of bullion and oil. The Americans would call to surrender by the end of the second hour because every American with more than ten dollars in the bank would have called someone in Washington and screamed.