THE FUSE

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has refused to bow before Western aggression, duplicity and maritime coercion, and he has placed the Strait of Hormuz at the centre of the battle over sovereignty and imperial power. He has made it clear that Iran will defend its strategic position against a US-led order that wages war, imposes sieges and seizes ships while presenting aggression in the language of international law. Washington and Tel Aviv opened this conflict. The United States then kept the pressure in place through blockade and ship seizure, even under ceasefire conditions. Europe has chosen to reinforce that pressure through sanctions. Iran is not the force dragging the region towards destruction. The Atlantic powers attacking it are.