The US military has announced it will enforce a blockade on all Iranian ports in the strait of Hormuz from Monday after ceasefire talks with Iran over the weekend ended without an agreement.
The strait has emerged as Iran’s most effective weapon in its asymmetric war with the US, which alongside Israel, launched the now six-week conflict in the Middle East. The US-Israeli attacks caused significant damage and loss of life but failed to topple Tehran’s regime or end its nuclear ambitions. They have instead resulted in a global economic crisis as Iran in effect closed the vital waterway, through which about 20% of the world’s oil and gas supply previously moved. The consequent rise in the oil price has fuelled fears of damaging inflation while exports of other vital goods, such as fertilisers required for food production, have collapsed.
