War In Iran Sparks Rising Fear, Anger Across Middle East (S01E55)

Wednesday, April 22, 2026, ParisThe talks are off but the dual blockade of the Persian Gulf continues. Iran is barring ships from other countries from entering and exiting the Strait of Hormuz, while the US is barring Iranian ships from the chokepoint.The game of brinkmanship is costing the global economy dearly. Sahar Mechmech, an economist at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, said fragile Arab economies are already feeling the strain by being forced to increase subsidies for fuel. “It’s the state and the country and the government that has to bear the cost of that increase in value between the domestic price of oil and the international price,” she told badlands in an interview.The cost crunch and security crisis also imperils ongoing and future efforts to rebuild war-ravaged parts of the region. “When we talk about reconstruction in Lebanon or in Syria or in Gaza, the assumption is that the US and its allies will stabilize the country politically, and then the Gulf is going to come in with a lot of money to finance reconstruction,” she said. “With this current conflict, will that money materialize? We don’t know.”What’s not in doubt is who the Arab world blames for the crisis. “What we’ve seen is that the U.S. actions in Iran and in Lebanon and in in Palestine have had real consequences on people’s perceptions of it, even in countries that are supposedly allied with it,” she said. “So that puts a lot of the long term interests of the US at risk.”Watch or listen, like, share, and subscribe!badlands is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit borzou.substack.com/subscribe