The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which typically intervenes when poor countries face debt distress, will confront the growing debt problems of wealthy nations this week. Government borrowing costs in countries such as the United States, Europe, and Japan have soared to multi-decade highs, primarily due to the conflict between the US and Iran pushing up inflation. This means these nations need to pay more to service historically high debt, which in turn forces them to borrow more, creating a vicious cycle.