May 7, 2026

USSR old map (AI generated)
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was preceded by a promise, implicit in the logic of market transition, that integration into the global economy would deliver prosperity. For some successor states, that promise was kept. For others, it has not been kept to this day.
Iran’s ongoing strategy of leveraging the Strait of Hormuz as a geopolitical pressure point is widely perceived as a source of strategic advantage. However, this assessment overlooks a fundamental reality: Iran is structurally more vulnerable to sustained disruption of the strait than are its regional adversaries. With the overwhelming majority of its oil exports and trade dependent on this corridor, any prolonged closure would inflict severe economic damage on Iran itself, exacerbating internal instability and limiting its strategic endurance.

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