Donald Trump has a perverse genius for driving American adversaries to discover new forms of leverage over the US. His trade war with China persuaded Beijing to exploit its domination of rare earths and critical minerals, forcing the US to reduce its tariffs.
In a similar fashion, Iran has now finally carried through on a longstanding threat and in effect closed the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran, like Beijing, will have been delighted to discover how quickly it can inflict economic pain on the West.
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Financial Times