LONDON: For much of the Global South, the US-Israel-Iran war is no longer a distant geopolitical crisis. It is showing up in farm budgets, fuel queues and food markets, as disruption in the Strait of Hormuz drives up costs and strains already fragile economies. Iran’s blockade of Hormuz has rattled one of the world’s most important shipping lanes, while the US naval blockade ordered by President Donald Trump targets ships headed to or from Iranian ports rather than all traffic using the strait. In Sudan, the consequences are already visible before sunrise.

Global agriculture is highly exposed to the blockage of waterways, risking higher commodity prices and food inflation.

The war in the Middle East has led to a domino effect, threatening to worsen global hunger. Geopolitical tensions are exposing the strong dependence of food systems on countries…