West Asia, Ukraine conflicts drag on; global turmoil leaves no room for political experiments

A Reuters investigation reveals that Iran in the past seven months has struck no less than 135 infrastructure targets in the ongoing war, with the critical Fujairah port beyond the Strait of Hormuz hit no less than 19 times. Despite the US and Israel providing intelligence and missile interceptors to the Gulf countries, Iran-aligned Houthis have expanded the war by hitting Saudi infrastructure, airports, oil pipelines, and refineries with impunity. A tanker on fire in the Strait of HormuzToday, the so-called West Asia economic boom has been hit, with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its Quds force, as well as Iranian proxies, hurting the economies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. With the US blockade of Iranian ports yet to show results, the Iran has taken the sheen off the might of American military and exposed the pusillanimity of the Sunni West Asian states to retaliate against Shia Iran despite having the best of aerial platforms. Even though the Gulf countries have tried to gloss over infra damage done by never-ending Iranian missiles, drones and cruise missiles, Tehran has made West Asia a collateral damage in the war with the US. Fact is that the ongoing stalemate in the war is only going to boost Iran's image of standing up to the mighty US with Europe dealing with its own immigrant crisis. That the Gulf countries have not taken the war to Iran reveals either political and religious confusion among Gulf kingdoms or their incapacity to wage war against an enemy who has targeted civilian infrastructure. The Houthis' attack on Saudi Arabia has exposed the Turkey-Pakistan-Saudi defence pact as the Shia proxy is continuing to fire top-of-the-line ballistic missiles with maneuverable warheads, which are landing on targets with precision. Clearly, the Houthis are being helped by the IRGC in making of missiles and drones as well as providing coordinates for the infra targets in the Kingdom. By targeting the UAE and Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones, Iran has struck at Mohammed bin Zayed’s and Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitions to transform their countries into modern states with vibrant economies and religious reforms. The biggest casualty of Iranian attacks has been the tourism and travel industry with Dubai and Abu Dhabi no longer so lucrative to global investors and financial institutions. The seven month war has not only hit global economy and energy security, it has damaged the UAE's reputation as a safe haven in the turbulent West Asia. While the global energy markets are in turmoil, oil prices are on a high and inflation is rearing its head. India under the Narendra Modi government is holding its own. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted India’s 2026 GDP growth at 7 per cent while labeling the country as the fastest-growing major economy. Be it the Covid pandemic, Ukraine war, Gaza war or Iran war, the Indian ship is steady and growing by the day. With the Ukraine war flaring up after President Volodymyr Zelensky vowing to continue attacking Russian oil refineries and infrastructure, and Iran and its proxies continuing to hurt West Asia, the global economy is between a rock and a hard place. Political experiments at the behest of vested powers anywhere in the world today will only cause chaos and anarchy.