Editorial
As the protracted Mideast conflict continues to send economic shock waves across the globe, ASEAN must leverage its diplomatic weight to restore international law vis-à-vis the Hormuz strait before power politics dictates the world's most vital waterway.
Cargo ships anchor near the Strait of Hormuz in the waters off Khor Fakkan Port in the eastern United Arab Emirates, in this video still from AFPTV footage taken on July 12, 2026. (AFP/AFPTV)
The conflict between the United States and Iran has crossed lines long considered uncrossable. The escalation began on Feb. 28 when joint US-Israeli strikes killed Iran's supreme leader, an act of aggression whose reverberations the Middle East is still absorbing.Tehran’s subsequent retaliatory strikes hit US military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and even targeted long-standing mediator Oman. This response severely compounded the crisis, drawing neighboring nations into someone else’s war.
We condemn this escalation without exempting the US as co-aggressor.
