The latest ceasefire between the United States and Iran has failed to restore confidence in the Strait of Hormuz, exposing the world's continued dependence on a chokepoint that remains vulnerable to disruption.
Iran is delivering a master class in asymmetric warfare with real life military, geographic, and economic consequences.
If Bangladesh builds an SPR, it must not repeat either failure mode: Not scarcity through neglect, and not expansion without scrutiny. That, finally, is the real argument for a Bangladeshi reserve. Not a monument. Not another expensive ribbon-cutting exercise. A shield.
For Bangladesh, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz would not represent a diplomatic crisis with Tehran. It would represent a market crisis. The country’s exposure lies in its increasing dependence on globally traded LNG without deep diversification, strategic reserves, or substantial domestic alternatives.
The right to live in peace is not a gift from empires. It is a demand, shouted into the barrels of their guns. It is a world, built stone by stone, in the ruins they leave behind.
