Just as we were beginning to get inflation and interest rates under control, the Iranian proxy threatens global shipping and supply chains

All ships seeking to enter the Suez Canal from the Middle East and Asia have to travel into the Red Sea via a 26-kilometre long pinch point known as Bab-el-Mandeb. This Arabic name rather charmingly translates as the “Gate of Tears,” and tears it is now going to cause western supply chains and the fight against inflation.

What started as a few sporadic attacks on western ships in the Red Sea in November have rapidly escalated. Many of the world’s major shipping firms, and at least one major oil company (BP), have now confirmed they will divert their ships the extra 3,500 nautical miles, or 10 days of extra sailing, around South Africa as they head to European and North American ports.

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Who do we have to thank for all this? The Houthi, an Iranian-armed and -funded militia in Yemen, which has been fighting a proxy war for Iran against Saudi Arabia for years.

This is also one of the geopolitical consequences of both the newly destabilized Middle East and the ongoing standoff between the West and the authoritarian regimes of Iran, Russia and, less directly, China.

On Nov. 19, not long after the attacks........

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