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🇮🇱 Israel /Economy & Trade

The Strait of Hormuz: How the world endorsed Iran's blackmail

From Jerusalem Post · (35m ago) English Critical tone

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Iran has leveraged threats and its control over the Strait of Hormuz to exert political blackmail, a tactic refined over decades.
  • The international community's prolonged silence and hesitation, prioritizing short-term commercial interests over strategic stability, have emboldened Tehran.
  • This environment allowed Iran to escalate its actions without facing significant consequences, turning a vital global energy passage into a tool of coercion.

The Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global energy, has become a pawn in Tehran's long-standing strategy of political blackmail. This audacious stance by the mullah regime is not a sudden development but the culmination of decades of calculated brinkmanship, met with a world that consistently chose appeasement over confrontation. From the Tanker War of the 1980s to its nuclear program, Iran has learned that threats yield results and that international powers will retreat when faced with the prospect of costly conflict.

How did the mullah regime in Tehran reach this point of audacity, holding a vital passage of the global economy hostage, threatening the security of hundreds of millions of people, and turning international sea lanes into instruments of systematic political blackmail?

— SALEM ALKETBIMAYThe author questions the origins of Iran's current assertiveness and its use of the Strait of Hormuz for political leverage.

This pattern of behavior, as detailed in the analysis, stems from a fundamental miscalculation by the global community. The perceived cost of confronting Iran was consistently inflated, serving as a convenient excuse to defer action. Meanwhile, major powers prioritized immediate commercial gains, opening markets to Tehran while turning a blind eye to its illicit financing networks. This approach allowed Iran's disruptive conduct—marked by denial, proxy warfare, and incremental escalation—to become entrenched, treated as a manageable nuisance rather than the existential threat it poses to regional and global stability.

The answer lies not in Iran’s strength but in the prolonged silence of others and in an international environment that allowed this regime to expand without paying a real price.

— SALEM ALKETBIMAYThe author attributes Iran's audacity to international inaction rather than its own power.

The consequence is a vital waterway, responsible for a fifth of the world's oil and a quarter of its natural gas, transformed into a strategic weapon. The international community's failure to deter Iran has emboldened Tehran, demonstrating that blackmail and threats, when consistently applied without meaningful repercussions, become a powerful and effective tool. This inaction has not only weakened deterrence but hollowed it out entirely, leaving the world vulnerable to Iran's systematic erosion of security and economic stability.

threats pay and the world retreats.

— SALEM ALKETBIMAYThe author describes the lesson Iran learned from its actions during the Tanker War.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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