The Middle East remains engulfed in the widening fallout of Operation Epic Fury, a joint US-Israeli military campaign aimed at dismantling Iran's nuclear and ballistic capabilities. American and Israeli forces have established air supremacy, striking thousands of targets and significantly degrading Iran's missile networks and naval infrastructure.
In retaliation, Tehran launched an unprecedented barrage of drones and missiles across nearby states, including the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar, targeting energy hubs and civilian airports. Most consequentially for the global economy, the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed, with major shipping lines having suspended regional bookings, stranding numerous container ships. This blockade triggered acute volatility in global energy markets and severe supply chain bottlenecks for European and Asian manufacturing.
Internationally, the crisis has sharply divided capitals. While many European nations have broadly condemned Iran's retaliatory strikes, several Asian countries have called for immediate de-escalation to stabilize trade. Although the Trump administration has signaled hopes for internal regime change, those expectations have already faced complications: Iran's Assembly of Experts, a governing body that selects the nation’s supreme leader, still managed to convene and appoint Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as his successor earlier this month. Regional experts warn that rather than hastening collapse, the episode may instead empower the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to consolidate power under the new leadership or ultimately plunge the nation into a protracted civil war.
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