The willingness of Iran to engage in conflict is often portrayed as a sign of a resilient economy supporting foreign ventures. In reality: said ventures mask problems.

The war has upended global financial and energy markets, drawing concerns from world leaders.

By firing salvos of missiles at Israel, Iran’s leaders are rolling the dice on punitive retaliation and a return to all-out war. Their calculated decision to run that risk shows just how confident

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed an attack on Israel on Monday and said Israel-affiliated vessels would again be a target in the Red Sea, putting the waterway, as well as the Gulf of Aden and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting them, in danger.

The web of fractious alliances and dysfunctional ceasefires shows how destabilised the region remains.

The new reality is the result of Iran’s effort to link the fate of both conflicts, and of the diverging priorities of the US president and the Israeli prime minister.

Israel had struck the outskirts of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, earlier on Sunday, prompting Iran to retaliate.

Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, have been working to help bridge differences between the U.S. and Iran and encourage efforts aimed at reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.