If you only track wars by whether missiles are currently in the air, you’ll miss most of what empire actually does for a living. This week the US carried out a new round of strikes on Iran, hitting more than 80 targets, air defence systems, command networks, coastal radar, and dozens of small boats near the Strait of Hormuz, and in the same breath reimposed the oil sanctions it had only recently, briefly, lifted. Iran has called it a “clear violation” of the memorandum the two countries signed last month and promised a “crushing response.” Buyers of Iranian oil now have until 17 July to unwind their transactions or face secondary sanctions themselves. Watch how quickly the headlines move on to the missiles and skip past that sentence. The missiles get the airtime. The sanctions get the casualties.