Over the past 30 hours, the US escalated the conflict in its war against Iran as President Donald John Trump declared on May 2, 2026 that his Project Freedom would begin on May 4, with the US military controlling transit through the Strait of Hormuz. A US CentCom statement declared that the US Navy would provide “guidance” for ships’ passage and oppose Iranian interference with force. CentCom reported that the US forces would include “guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members”. There may be a Pentagon briefing on the situation soon.

Early on May 4, Tehran issued a statement, with Iranian Major General Ali Abdollahi reaffirming the right of Iran to control its waters and posting a map, showing the line across the Persian Gulf above and below the Strait of Hormuz, inside which the Islamic Republic declares its sovereignty to control transit.

Reports continue to come out, sometimes conflicting, of warning shots, damage to ships and the US claim to have sunk six small Iranian boats. It is reported that officials from Iran and Oman will be conferring imminently as the two littoral nations that have worked together for decades on safe navigation. Meanwhile, the UAE is caught in the middle of the conflict. The UN has a navigation corridor scheme on standby, worked out by a multi-agency task force, including the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), commissioned in mid-March. Their goals include providing exodus for the 200 vessels and 20,000 seamen trapped for weeks in the blockade, and also expediting vital flows of commodities and humanitarian cargo.

However, the Trump Administration opposes the principle of international law of the UN. The US and Israel continue unilateral action, not only in the Gulf region, but also Israel is striking Lebanon and Gaza hard. On May 5, President Trump mentioned on social media that Iran would be “blown off the face of the Earth”, if it targets US ships in the Strait. US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz announced that he would prepare a UN Security Council resolution, along with the UAE, against Iran. Last week, Waltz called for other nations to join the US-led Maritime Freedom Construct.

All the while, the worldwide economic shocks grow by the hour, given the shutdown of vital flows of oil, gas, naphtha, fertilisers, sulphur and other commodities through the Gulf. A grim warning of the life-and-death implications for food was given by Svein Tore Holsether, the CEO of Yara International, the world’s biggest fertiliser company based in Norway, who said on April 30 that he foresaw a scenario of a global auction of fertiliser coming into being, where fertiliser went to the highest bidder and the poor lose out. Yara operates in 60 countries and sells in dozens more. Its fertiliser prices to farmers are up 80% since March.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, the widow of American political activist Lyndon LaRouche and the founder of the LaRouche Movement‘s Schiller Institute, as well as the German Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität Party, used the analogy of “the noose tightening around the neck of humanity” to describe the consequences of allowing all this to continue. To further decisive action to stop the madness, Schiller Institute will sponsor its fourth international (online) roundtable this year as experts will confer on the emergency situation to mobilise forces to intervene. The date is tentatively set for May 15 and the event will be conducted concurrently with the weekly International Peace Coalition (IPC). An invitation in multiple languages is forthcoming.

Provocations Abound
On May 5, a high-rise apartment building in Moscow was hit by Ukrainian attack drones, with the obvious implication of targeting President Vladimir Putin. Moreover, the strike took place only days before Russia’s May 9 observance of the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The drone attack took place as the Eighth Summit of the European Political Community of some 48 nations, plus EU and NATO leaders, in Yerevan discussed new multibillion-dollar funding for Kiev to keep Ukraine’s Proxy War against Russia going. This grouping was initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

There are forces in motion for diplomacy and intervention to stop this warfare. One important focus this month is May 26, when China, the rotating President of the UN Security Council for May, will hold a special UNSC open debate at the ministerial level on Upholding the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter and Strengthening the UN-Centred International System. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will chair the discussion and more than the 15 member nations of the UNSC are likely to participate.

This is the direction to take, without delay. Zepp-LaRouche called on everyone to support this initiative for humanity. She has warned that the global community is going through “a period of heightened military tension and danger”, stating: “Something can go awfully wrong at any moment”.

Schiller Institute published this article on May 5, 2026.

Meanwhile,

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin

Contact us: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das