Armies fight for a people; armies fight for a nation. Armies fight for a way of life. And that is what we are defending: a great civilisation that has every reason to be proud of its history, confident of its future, and aims to always be the master of its own economic and political destiny—Marco Rubio, speech at the Munich Security Conference, February 14, 2026.

The February 28, 2026, unprovoked military assault on Iran by the United States and Israel, entering its fourth week, marks a dangerous turning point in contemporary geopolitics. It is not simply another episode in the troubled history of the Middle East. It signals the early phase of a broader strategic contest in which physical destruction and targeted assassinations are being deployed as instruments of war to reshape economic and geopolitical realities.

Iran’s location explains why it has again become a central theatre of this emerging contest. Situated between Central Asia, the Persian Gulf and the eastern Mediterranean, the country lies astride one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which a substantial share of global oil trade passes, gives Iran an influence over global energy security that few states possess. Any attempt to destabilise Iran, therefore, carries consequences that extend far beyond regional politics. It reverberates across energy markets, maritime routes and the evolving architecture of Eurasian connectivity.

Iran is also an important link in emerging economic corridors connecting China, Russia and the wider Eurasian region. Infrastructure networks linking Central Asia to global markets increasingly depend on stability across this geography. Disrupting Iran, therefore, disrupts the broader architecture of Eurasian trade.

The present escalation must therefore be examined through a broader strategic lens. The confrontation with Iran coincides with intensifying economic competition between the United States and China. China’s rise has reshaped global trade networks, manufacturing chains and technological ecosystems. Direct economic containment has proved difficult. Strategic disruption offers an alternative path.

In international politics, mighty powers seldom describe their actions in terms of domination, extraction or coercion. Instead, they invoke the vocabulary of stability, peace, democracy, humanitarian responsibility or the defence of a “rules-based order”.

Destabilising Iran affects far more than regional politics. It disrupts supply chains, heightens energy uncertainty and complicates emerging economic partnerships across Eurasia

Destabilising Iran affects far more than regional politics. It disrupts supply chains, heightens energy uncertainty and complicates emerging economic partnerships across Eurasia

History repeatedly demonstrates that when powerful states proclaim themselves defenders of the international........

© The Friday Times