World Briefing Plus: The Global Blowback Begins (Video)
With Russian oil flowing again, Iran striking deeper and Moscow escalating in Ukraine, the widening Middle East war is shaking the world economy
The widening war in the Middle East is no longer confined to the Gulf. Its shockwaves are now rippling across the global economy - and increasingly across Asia.
In this week’s World Briefing Plus video from Manila, I unpack how the conflict is evolving in ways Washington may not have fully anticipated. Iran’s strikes are becoming increasingly precise - including today’s brazen hit on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad - while attacks on military bases, airports, desalination plants and other strategic infrastructure across the region suggest growing technical sophistication.
One key reason: quiet assistance from Russia and China, which appear to be helping Tehran improve its targeting capabilities and battlefield awareness.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s decision to temporarily allow the sale of Russian oil already at sea is sending a powerful signal through energy markets - effectively injecting new funds into the Kremlin’s coffers just as Moscow intensifies drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, including deadly overnight attacks on Kyiv.
The result is a conflict that is expanding geographically and economically at the same time - shaking oil markets, unsettling Asian economies and raising serious questions about whether the full global consequences of this war were ever fully calculated by the Trump Administration.
Bottom line: there is no clear off-ramp. And the world is in for a very rough ride.
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