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Why the Middle East is a Big Headache
The Middle East is a complete and utter shit show.
There are two main reasons why it is relevant in the 21st century.
The first is oil, with the Middle East responsible for 31.3% of global oil production.
The Middle East is also the gateway between Europe and the Far East, which means it’s a transit hub for international shipping, with 12% of global shipping going through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.
Persian Gulf, where 30 per cent of the world’s seaborne-traded crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz daily.
The other great Middle East export is the export of international terrorism, which is used by regional powers of Saudi Arabia and Iran to destabilise one another’s regimes and to fight proxy wars against each other.
Most recently, the Iranian-backed Hamas based in Gaza and Houthis based in Yemen terrorist groups launched an attack against Israel on 7 October 2023, and the other group, the Houthis, has been attacking international shipping in the Red Sea since 19 November 2023.
Also, according to the National Institute for Health, a total of 41,837 attacks occurred in the Middle East from 1970–2019, accounting for 24.9% of all terrorist attacks around the world.
