US-Iran negotiations concerning Middle East peace have drawn widespread international attention. On February 6, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi stated that the nuclear talks between Iran and the US, mediated by Oman, had gotten off to a good start and would continue. This has been regarded as a piece of encouraging news amid the increasingly escalating tensions between the two countries since the beginning of this year. However, even as negotiations between the US and Iran were underway, the White House issued an executive order imposing a 25 percent import tariff on any country that "directly or indirectly" purchases goods and services from Iran. This move clearly reflects an escalation of US hegemonic behavior.

Since the beginning of this year, starting with its sudden military action against Venezuela, the US has increasingly resorted to unilateralism to undermine international law and disrupt the existing international order. This has left the international community with a striking impression that even as US hegemonic power is in relative decline, its hegemonic practices are intensifying. What lies behind this trend, and what broader implications does it reveal?

Part of the answer can be found in the 2026 National Defense Strategy report released by the Pentagon in late January. The report's main approach and core objective are to rejuvenate the US through military buildup and to "Make America Great Again." On this basis, the current US defense strategy has identified four key priorities, namely defending the homeland, deterring China in the Indo-Pacific through strength rather than confrontation, enhancing burden-sharing among allies and partners, and accelerating the development of the defense industrial base.

The logic behind these four priorities is as follows: homeland and Western Hemisphere defense takes top priority and is directly linked to the "America First" principle; the Indo-Pacific is a critical region shaping America's future, making the management of relations with China Washington's foremost task there; promoting burden-sharing is a necessary choice for safeguarding homeland security and protecting global interests; and strengthening the defense industrial base is an essential prerequisite for maintaining US military superiority and addressing diverse challenges.

It is not difficult to see that Washington's new defense strategy has, in effect, sent three clear signals to the outside world. First, US hegemonic power is waning. Second, its hegemonic ambitions and bullying behavior remain unchanged. Third, Washington remains deeply trapped in the fallacy of absolute security.

Whether in the 2025 US National Security Strategy released last December or in this latest defense strategy report, Washington has acknowledged the reality of the decline of its hegemonic power. As a result, the US has been compelled to scale back its strategic objectives and to place homeland and Western Hemisphere defense at the top of its priorities. By treating the Western Hemisphere as a natural extension of its homeland defense, the US has openly asserted its claimed right to take unilateral action across the region. Such domineering and hegemonic behavior, which disregards international law and rules, has become a major threat to international peace and security.

From Venezuela to Greenland, and from Cuba to Iran, the decline of hegemonic power has not made US external actions more cautious or restrained. On the contrary, it has exposed a dangerous trend toward the escalation of hegemonic behavior. Since taking office, the current US administration has stepped up its foreign intervention operations. According to data released by the ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data) and cited by Newsweek, the US carried out 573 airstrikes and drone strikes from January 20, 2025, to January 5, 2026. A series of military operations launched by Washington, such as the military operation codenamed Midnight Hammer against Iran and the military operation codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve targeting Venezuela, not only served as displays of force but also sent unmistakable deterrent signals to its adversaries.

The fundamental reason why the US perceives security threats everywhere lies in its adherence to an absolute security mindset. It treats US security as absolute and unilateral, ignores its relativity and reciprocity, and seeks so-called absolute security by relying on overwhelming superiority based on a position of strength. In response to so-called external threats, the US either resorts directly to military action or applies high-pressure intimidation, while also backing its allies and partners to act as hatchet men. In doing so, it objectively creates new adversaries for itself and injects multiple destabilizing factors into regional peace and security. Clearly, this narrow security mindset, which prioritizes one's own security at the expense of others, leads only to ever-rising defense spending and a steadily deteriorating security environment, harming not only the US itself but also the wider world.

(The author is the Director of the office for US and Latin American Studies, Institute for International Strategic Studies, the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance))

Editor's note: Originally published on huanqiu.com, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.