this assessment offers an in-depth analytical reading of how maritime geography – and chokepoints in particular – has been reconfigured within Iran’s regional strategy, and how this reconfiguration is reshaping the strategic geography of conflict in the Middle East.
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A month into the conflict, the number of displaced persons across Lebanon has reached 1 million people. Displacement orders are estimated to cover approximately 14 percent of Lebanon’s territory covering southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs, and the Bekaa. The displaced population has placed enormous strain on Lebanon’s battered economy. On 28 March, Yemen’s Houthi rebels entered the conflict, attacking Israel with a barrage of ballistic missiles. The potential for the conflict to escalate and encompass war-torn Yemen raises serious, potentially catastrophic, humanitarian concerns.
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Introduction The joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran that began on February 28, 2026, has triggered one of the Gulf’s most dangerous crises in decades. For energy-importing countries in Asia, the conflict is not a distant war; it is a direct threat to their security. East Asian powers import roughly 60% of their oil from the… Continue reading Asia and the Iran Conflict: Energy Vulnerability and the Imperative for Action
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Since late February, when the United States and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran under Operation Epic Fury and Operation Rising Lion, respectively, the Gulf states have been drawn into a war not of their making and not in their interests. For years, the Gulf states carefully diversified their security strategies, deepening ties with the U.S., expanding diplomatic… Continue reading Gulf Security Beyond Guarantees
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When the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February, Tehran responded, in large part, by attacking military installations and civilian infrastructure in the Gulf states. The Islamic Republic’s strategy was to immediately raise and disperse the cost of the war by destabilizing the global economy and pressuring the Gulf states… Continue reading Gulf States in the Crossfire of a War They Tried To Prevent
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The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are confronting the greatest threat to their economic security and energy strategy since their formation. The economic fallout of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is severe, but uneven across the Gulf. So too is each state’s ability to sustain energy exports and protect critical infrastructure—both of which have been targeted unequally by Iran. The war has produced the largest disruption to global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies in modern history. Before… Continue reading How the War is Redefining Gulf Economic Power and Energy Strategy
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