The closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the Middle East military conflict threatens the world not only with an energy crisis, but also with a global food crisis. Against the background of mutual ultimatums between Washington and Tehran, prices of basic resources are setting records, and global logistics chains are on the verge of collapse.
The war between the US, Israel and Iran has already caused oil and gas prices to skyrocket, but the economic consequences are much more far-reaching. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the blockade of the strait has paralyzed supplies of nitrogen fertilizers produced from natural gas. This maritime corridor handles about one-third of global trade in such products. Analysts warn that supply disruptions will inevitably lead to food shortages and sharp increases in food prices, which will primarily affect the poorest countries on the planet.
The numbers clearly show the scale of the problem. The Gulf countries supply almost half of the urea and about 30 percent of the ammonia to the world market. The situation is complicated by the fact that Qatar, one of the leading suppliers of urea, was forced to completely stop production after the infrastructure of the Ras Laffan industrial zone was damaged by Iranian strikes. Although other producers in the region continue to load ships, only one vessel has managed to exit the blocked strait since late February. As a result, the exchange prices of fertilizers have already increased by 10-30 percent, and the cost of one ton of urea has risen from $472 to almost $600.
Along with the economic crisis, the geopolitical situation is rapidly heating up. US President Donald Trump has issued a tough ultimatum to Tehran, giving 48 hours to completely unblock the Strait of Hormuz and otherwise threatening to destroy Iran’s power plants, starting with the largest. In response, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed to inflict “irreversible” damage on US and its allies’ energy, oil, IT and desalination infrastructure across the region.
“If the United States’ threats against Iranian power plants are carried out (..), the Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed and will not be reopened until our damaged power plants are restored,” Iran’s military command said in a statement broadcast on state television.
Amidst this unprecedented escalation, a British politician George Galloway made a scandalous statement claiming that Donald Trump is suffering from a nervous breakdown. Galloway publicly called on Vice President JD Vance and the US military to remove the country’s leader from power, stressing that Trump’s inner circle is aware of his condition. Such statements only increase tensions in the already explosive Middle East.
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