For decades, Middle Eastern geopolitics has revolved around the Iranian nuclear program as Tehran's primary pillar of deterrence against external attacks. However, the protracted nature of recent regional tensions has revealed that Iran has consolidated an equally effective and more immediately applicable weapon: the capacity to control, and potentially close, the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Rouzbeh Parsi, an expert on Iranian politics interviewed by the Swedish newspaper *Dagens Nyheter*, this tactic has transitioned from a hypothetical scenario to a real and functional instrument of warfare. Parsi states that the efficacy of disrupting maritime traffic in one of the world's most vital energy routes has been tested and validated, offering the regime a lasting strategic advantage for future negotiations and conflicts.
Unlike nuclear rhetoric, which carries immense diplomatic and existential weight, control over Hormuz directly impacts the circulatory system of the global economy. By demonstrating its ability to swiftly constrict the supply of essential commodities, Iran redefines the costs of any international intervention in the region, transforming maritime geography into a sophisticated instrument of political power.
With information from Dagens Nyheter.
Source · Dagens Nyheter
