There is no doubt that the February 28, 2026 attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel were carried out as a result of the pressure exerted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. He persuaded Washington to use force to cripple Iran and set back that country's nuclear program. Israel saw Iran's nuclear activities as an existential threat. The Israelis believed that if Iran did develop a nuclear bomb, it will use it to destroy the Jewish state. While that was the reason for the use of enormous force to set back Iran, no thought was given either to work out how the war would end and what would be its effects on the geographic area of which Iran was a part. It was not only the Middle East that was affected but also most of South and East Asia, in particular the eastern part of the Continent. Poor people in poor countries were deeply affected. Several western newspapers carried stories of the way the poor in poor countries were suffering.

China, the largest Asian economy, was affected both negatively and positively. By and large, it emerged as a winner in the war against Iran. While the shocks to the global energy system resulting from the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have sent some countries into a tailspin, with higher prices for energy, fertilizer and chemicals, the effect on China has been largely positive. The country has mostly managed to escape the kind of cascading economic and political effects that bedeviled many other nations. The reason China has escaped the worst consequences of the Iran war is its large oil and gas........

© The Express Tribune