LettersAsia can’t wait for the US to lift its naval blockade on Iran

Readers discuss how to make the blockade costly for Washington, the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, and the success of a grass-roots film

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Life goes on around a shopping arcade in Tehran on May 31. Washington’s strategy rests on a Western fantasy: that a heavily sanctioned authoritarian state will simply collapse quietly. History says otherwise. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:30am, 2 Jun 2026

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If the world is waiting for Washington to stumble into a broad diplomatic resolution to the Hormuz crisis, it’s time to wake up. Passively waiting for an American-authored peace isn’t neutrality, it is economic suicide.

While a global recession is hardly in the United States’ long-term interest, Washington currently lacks a compelling structural incentive to lift its naval blockade. From the safety of the Oval Office, this remains a low-risk game of wait and bleed. By anchoring any settlement to maximalist demands, the US practically guarantees stalemate.

The most severe economic pain is being exported. Americans may complain about pump prices, but the US is a major oil producer with a domestic baseline to keep the lights on. The real devastation falls elsewhere. The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly one-fifth of global oil supply, which Asian economies are heavily reliant on. Working populations in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and the Philippines are bearing the brutal brunt.

Washington’s strategy rests on a uniquely Western fantasy: that a heavily sanctioned authoritarian state will simply collapse quietly. History says otherwise. Whether it’s Havana, Caracas or Pyongyang, American economic sieges have not caused an entrenched regime to peacefully implode.

Iran’s “resistance economy”, formally institutionalised by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2014, is engineered to absorb immense punishment. Geography remains Iran’s most potent card. If Iran cannot export oil, it can do everything possible to ensure nobody else in the region exports either.

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Readers discuss how to make the blockade costly for Washington, the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, and the success of a grass-roots film

Readers discuss how to make the blockade costly for Washington, the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, and the success of a grass-roots film