Iran is holding the world economy hostage. Trump’s truce proves its leverage

President Donald Trump has cast a fragile two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran as a “total and complete victory.” But the terms of the truce highlight how Iran has used control of the Strait of Hormuz to gain enormous leverage over the global economy.

That the ceasefire is conditional on Iran agreeing to reopen the vital waterway is a tacit acknowledgement of Tehran’s influence over the world’s most important oil chokepoint – and, with it, significant chunks of the global economy. “Iran doesn’t need a lot of military might to cause a huge disruption in the global economy,” Brookings energy expert Samantha Gross said last month.

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