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The war triggered by the U.S.–Israeli assault on Iran is no longer only a military confrontation centered on missiles, oil sites and retaliatory strikes. It is now beginning to register as a broader systemic shock to global trade and development, with the United Nations warning that the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is threatening energy flows, fertilizer supplies, food prices, humanitarian logistics and already fragile economies across several regions. Representational Map: Visegrad24 That was the central conclusion of a new assessment by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) , which described the Strait of Hormuz as one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints and warned that the near-halt in ship transits is sending ripple effects far beyond the Gulf.  According to the UN analysis, the strait normally carries 38% of global seaborne crude oil trade, 29% of LPG, 19% of LNG, 19% of refined oil products, 13% of chemicals including fertilizers, 2.8% of co...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman The war between the United States, Israel and Iran has moved into a more dangerous and more systemically disruptive phase, with Washington promising its “ most intense ” day of strikes yet inside Iran, Gulf states reporting fresh drone attacks, and the Strait of Hormuz still effectively frozen despite U.S. threats of military escorts. What is now emerging is a conflict that is steadily fusing air war, energy coercion, maritime disruption, evacuation logistics, diplomatic realignment and information manipulation into one expanding regional crisis.  Image Source: US Central Command The clearest signal of escalation came from the Pentagon. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that “ today will be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran ,” while the chairman of the Joint Chiefs said Iranian missile attacks had fallen by about 90%, presenting the new bombardment as part of a campaign to break Tehr...

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that Washington is prepared to widen its military campaign against Iran if necessary, keep the Strait of Hormuz open by force if required, and offer political-risk insurance for tankers operating in the Gulf, as he claimed the war is “very close” to ending and that Iran’s military capacity has been largely destroyed. File Photo: OSINT Defender on X Speaking at a White House press conference , Trump said the United States and Israel had already achieved most of their military objectives under what he called “Operation Epic Fury,” claiming that Iran’s naval power had been almost entirely destroyed, its missile capability had fallen to about 10 percent, and its drone-launching capacity had dropped by more than 80 percent.  “We’ve struck over 5,000 targets to date,” Trump said, adding that some of the most important targets had deliberately been held back for later “in case we need to do it.” The day President Donald J. Trump came down the escalator...

Russia may stop supplying oil and gas to Europe ahead of planned EU restrictions , President Vladimir Putin said on Monday, and warned that the escalating war in the Middle East is already disrupting global energy logistics and driving oil prices sharply higher. Speaking at a meeting with senior Russian energy officials and industry executives, Putin said the government had been instructed to evaluate the possibility of halting energy exports to the European market rather than waiting for new European Union restrictions to take effect. File Photo of Russian Prez Vladimir Putin; Via: MFA Russia   “The government has already been tasked with assessing the possibility and advisability of stopping supplies of our energy resources to the European market,” Putin said, and referred to EU plans to impose additional limits on Russian hydrocarbons starting April 25 , with proposals that could culminate in a complete ban by 2027 . Putin suggested Russia could redirect those volumes towa...

✍️ Written by Saket Suman The widening war triggered by U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran has already spilled beyond the battlefield, and is now reshaping global energy markets, disrupting maritime trade routes and pulling major powers into an increasingly complex geopolitical confrontation. The military campaign that was aimed at weakening Tehran’s leadership and military infrastructure has already evolved into a broader international crisis, driving oil prices higher, forcing governments to activate emergency economic measures and threatening the stability of key shipping corridors from the Strait of Hormuz to the eastern Mediterranean. The energy infrastructure has burnt down, health systems have faltered and diplomatic positions have hardened across Europe, Asia and the Gulf.  Representational Image Via: The Insider Paper on X Energy market data firm Kpler said Monday that the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most ...

India has activated emergency evacuation and support mechanisms for its citizens stranded in the Gulf as the widening Iran war continues to disrupt aviation routes across the region, with nearly 1,000 Indians departing Doha over the past three days on Qatar Airways flights , according to the Embassy of India in Qatar. File Photo Via fl360aero on X In an advisory issued Monday evening, the embassy said more than 300 Indian passengers flew from Doha to New Delhi earlier in the day , part of an ongoing effort to clear stranded travellers affected by flight disruptions linked to the regional conflict . The embassy said Qatar Airways had cooperated closely with Indian authorities , helping facilitate the departures of Indians who had been stranded in transit or on short-term visits as air routes across the Gulf face operational challenges . Additional flights are being planned to help evacuate more travellers. According to the advisory, three Qatar Airways flights to Delhi, Mumbai and ...

The expanding war triggered by the U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 has now killed more than 1,600 people across the Middle East , with multiple countries drawn into the conflict and governments around the world scrambling to cushion their economies from soaring energy prices and supply disruptions. Representational Image Via: Ideologix on X The deadliest toll has been reported in Iran , where at least 1,230 people have been killed , according to figures cited by the humanitarian organisation Iranian Red Crescent Society. Among the casualties were 175 schoolgirls and school staff killed in a missile strike on a primary school in Minab on the first day of the war. Iranian military officials also said 104 sailors were killed when a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka last week, though those deaths were not included in the Red Crescent’s overall casualty figure. The conflict has also caused fatalities in Israel, where authorities say two soldiers...

The United Nations cultural agency UNESCO has warned that the escalating war across the Middle East is placing World Heritage sites, schools, media institutions and fragile ecosystems at growing risk, as the conflict spreads across multiple countries and continues to cause large-scale civilian casualties and displacement. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Isfahan; Via: Assal Rad In a statement issued as fighting intensifies across the region, UNESCO said it was “deeply concerned over the protection of education, culture, media and the environment amid the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East and beyond.” The organisation said the situation has deteriorated rapidly since the outbreak of hostilities on February 28, warning that several sites of global cultural significance have already been affected. “Since the outbreak of hostilities on 28 February , several sites of cultural significance, including the Golestan Palace in Iran, the White City of Tel Aviv in Israel, and Tyre in Leban...

Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei , the son of the slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , as the country’s new supreme leader , state media reported Monday, marking a pivotal moment in the rapidly escalating Middle East war that has already spread across multiple countries and pushed global oil prices above $100 per barrel . Image Source: Iran in India Mojtaba Khamenei was selected by Iran’s Assembly of Experts , the 88-member body of senior clerics responsible for appointing the country’s supreme leader, following the killing of his father in U.S.–Israeli strikes earlier in the conflict . The appointment places the younger Khamenei at the center of Iran’s military and political response to the war, as the country’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) answers directly to the supreme leader and plays a central role in directing Iran’s regional strategy. The announcement came as U.S. President Donald Trump issued a warning about Tehran’s new leadership , and said the ...