How the Iran War Is Making Everything More Expensive
By James Secondine On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched a series of strikes against Iranian defense infrastructure and leadership. Within days, the conflict escalated into a direct confrontation near one of the most important chokepoints in the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through that narrow waterway. As both sides moved to disrupt both physical and perceptive capacity, global oil supply took a hit, and prices started climbing. For consumers already weary of post-pandemic inflation, the timing could not have been worse. Why Does an Oil Shortage Raise the Price of Everything? Oil is what economists call a fungible good: one barrel is roughly interchangeable with another, regardless of where it was pumped. That matters here because when Middle Eastern oil disappears from the market, countries don’t simply go without; instead, they bid for supply from elsewhere. Global demand for oil stays roughly th...