Who needs nuclear weapons when you’ve got the Strait of Hormuz? Sure, ordinary Iranians are far worse off than on February 28th when the US and Israel launched a war that killed the Supreme Leader on Day One but the Islamic Republic’s since discovered it’s got leverage beyond its wildest dreams and betting that Donald Trump’s threats of invasion are empty. Iran’s leadership can even paint the US president as the bad guy when he threatens a 20-percent toll on commercial vessels passing through the Strait. That was Monday. He’s reversed himself since and then there’s the bewilderment of the rest of the planet. With missiles flying across the Gulf, as crude climbs to four-week highs a broader question: Why this cycle of war, talks, televised signing ceremonies and return to hostilities? Are we reduced to spectators in this pattern of performative drama? And how to break that cycle?
FRANCE 24