The world has discussed the war in the Middle East from every possible angle – military strategy, geopolitics, energy security, supply chains, economic resilience and humanitarian consequences. There are articles, television debates, conferences and strategic assessments everywhere. But the world appears helpless despite knowing the consequences and also knowing that the war must stop.
Sanctions have become another form of economic warfare in this conflict. Restricting Iran’s oil, gas, petrochemicals, fertilisers, metals and other industrial supplies disrupts global supply chains far beyond the region. Manufacturing hubs are forced to source their needs at higher costs, pushing up prices of finished products and other items worldwide. The impact is ultimately felt by ordinary consumers through inflation, from fuel and fertilisers to plastics, chemicals and agricultural products. What begins as a sanction against one country becomes an economic burden on millions elsewhere, with developing and poorer countries bearing the greatest pain.
How A Regional War Became The World’s Economic Problem
Their economic growth is being pushed backwards and their cost of living is rising. Because a high-income household may absorb higher fuel, food and transportation costs, but the poor, lower-middle and middle-income categories that account for nearly 80 per cent of the world’s population cannot afford such additional costs, the worst sufferers are the poor.
