The Guardian editorial: Trump's war on Iran will burden the world's poorest the most.

Rising fuel costs, the termination of mortgage schemes and the likelihood of higher prices for everything from groceries to smartphones are straining households. The US‑Israeli strike on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation have unsettled the world economy. Consumers are already bearing the brunt of the most severe energy‑supply shock in recent memory, and Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, announced on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed, according to state media. The strait is the principal bottleneck for global energy flows. The temporary dip in oil prices that followed the International Energy Agency’s unprecedented release of reserves proved fleeting: as the US and Israel stepped up attacks on Iran, assaults on transport infrastructure throughout the Gulf intensified.

The effects are not distributed evenly. In Asia, which depends heavily on Middle‑Eastern crude oil and liquefied natural gas, Bangladesh shut all its universities and Pakistan closed some schools because of fuel shortages. While US reporting focuses on domestic repercussions, other regions are paying steeper costs, and the world’s poorest and most vulnerable stand to suffer the most.

The conflict has sparked a fresh humanitarian emergency, displacing millions in Iran and Lebanon and damaging health facilities as well as more than 17,000 residential structures, according to Iran’s Red Crescent. It also deepens pre‑existing crises, arriving as US aid cuts and reductions by Britain and other donors push millions further into hunger.

In Gaza, food prices have spiked after Israel sealed border crossings. The World Health Organization, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and other agencies are struggling to move essential supplies out of the region: Dubai, home to a major humanitarian logistics hub and the Middle East’s largest container terminal, caught fire after being hit by debris from an intercepted Iranian missile. Companies are reportedly adding emergency surcharges of roughly $3,000 per container. The World Food Programme says the crisis has added an extra 9,000 km to its shipments from India to Sudan, the world’s largest humanitarian emergency.

The oil shock raises not only transport costs for relief efforts but also the price of running generators for clinics. Local food production will suffer too; about half of Sudan’s fertilizer is imported from the Middle East. Many nations also face lower remittances from migrant workers who cannot afford to leave the Gulf like wealthier expatriates and are finding it hard to secure adequate employment. Sam Vigersky of the Council on Foreign Relations warned of a developing “polycrisis … pushing the hungry toward emergency – and those already in emergency toward famine.” For millions, the economic shock may mean more than tighter budgets; it could be a matter of life and death.

The United Nations and other bodies continue to press for safe passage of humanitarian convoys.