FOUR recent pieces on the Iran crisis by eminent commentators writing in the New York Times are worthy of reflection for the distinct perspectives they bring. For instance, American President Donald Trump’s fantasy is crashing around him, says Lydia Polgreen. Trump thinks “America’s awesome power means it is unfettered by any rules, untroubled by any consequences”. Perceived to be “blessed by geography and protected from its enemies by two vast oceans, why shouldn’t it do what it will?”

In the wake of negotiations that were ongoing, a reckless war was launched by the US and Israel when they killed Iran’s top leader on Feb 28 with the ostensible aim of regime change. A disciplined and well-armed response by the Iranians was not anticipated. Their missiles and drones have not only targeted Israel but have also hit US military bases and oil refineries in Gulf states including Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Airports, hotels, data centres and energy infrastructure have been struck. The Strait of Hormuz, crucial to the export of oil and gas, stands inoperative, crippling energy markets. The bubble of secure investment havens in the Gulf has burst.

America’s major conflicts since World War II have taken place in nations that, according to Polgreen, were “on the economic periphery” — Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq. The current US-Israel attack on Iran is unfolding in a crucial global financial centre. The Gulf is home to about half of the world’s proven reserves of oil, which now stand imperilled. Polgreen points out that a fifth of the global LNG comes via the strait, chiefly from Qatar.........

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