How the Iran Conflict Could Trigger a Wider Economic Shock

Cellphone footage showing tongues of flame and thick, black smoke billowing from a ship in the Strait of Hormuz is an ominous image underlining fears of disruption to global oil supplies amid the US and Israeli conflict with Iran. The straits are a vital global trade route for oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The Skylight, a 7,600-ton oil and chemical tanker, was just north of the Omani port of Khassab, near to the narrowest point of the strait where the shipping lane is just 3 kilometers wide. It was one of three civilian ships reportedly…