ZHAW International Business Podium: Iran in the Bigger Picture

The war in the Middle East has escalated dramatically in recent days: Following coordinated air strikes by the United States and Israel on targets in Iran – in which, among others, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed – Tehran responded with massive missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory and US bases in the Gulf region. At the same time, the conflict spread to Lebanon, where Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel and Israel responded with counterstrikes.

These military confrontations are not only having wide-ranging regional repercussions, including attacks on bases in Bahrain and Cyprus and rising tensions with other Gulf states, but are also causing significant economic consequences such as sharply rising oil prices and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a central hub of the global energy trade. International concern is growing over further destabilisation of the region.

This represents a massive escalation of an already highly tense situation. In the next online edition of the International Business Podium, our experts Khaldoun Dia-Eddine, Prof. Dr. Christopher Hartwell and Michael Walsh (a U.S. national security expert who trains foreign services and served as a defense policy advisor on a U.S. presidential campaign) will analyse the security implications and the consequences for the region and the world:

• What does the attack on Iran mean for the geopolitical struggle for power?
• What are the effects on mayor players like the US, China, Russia or Europe?
• What does it mean for mayor players in the region – Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel?
• What does the war tell us about the future of Diplomacy?