There are moments in international politics when events move so quickly that commentary struggles to keep pace. The latest escalation between Israel and Iran appears to be one of those moments, not merely because of the military exchanges themselves, but because of what they reveal about the broader architecture of global security. This is not simply another Middle Eastern confrontation. It is a stress test of the post-Cold War order.

Over the past week, international media outlets, including Reuters and Al Jazeera, have documented intensifying hostilities, emergency diplomatic efforts, and market reactions. Oil price volatility has returned to headlines, with analysts warning that prolonged instability could disrupt already fragile energy markets. As The New York Times and other economic publications have noted in recent days, energy shocks remain one of the most immediate transmission channels through which regional conflict becomes global economic strain, and gas prices have surged dramatically, reflecting this reality. The implications extend far beyond the battlefield.

Since 1991, the international system has rested on a set of assumptions: that American power would anchor security guarantees, that multilateral institutions would mediate crises, and that interdependence would raise the cost of war to prohibitive levels. Even when wars erupted, from Iraq to Syria to Ukraine, there remained a sense that escalation could be contained within an overarching framework of global order. That framework now appears increasingly fragile.

The language of a “rules-based international order” has been invoked repeatedly by Western leaders over the past three decades. Yet events from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to the current Middle Eastern escalation suggest that the rules........

© The Friday Times