A Chokepoint for Modern Medicine: The Strait of Hormuz and the Hidden Fragility of Global Health Supply Chains

How the world’s most critical energy corridor underpins—and endangers—the flow of pharmaceutical ingredients and medical materials worldwide

Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH
Mar 09, 2026  

Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH

With the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, I wondered how much the medical field could be impacted. Alter AI assisted with this inquiry.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early 2026 has exposed the fragility of global health supply chains by highlighting how deeply key pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing inputs depend on this narrow maritime corridor. The Strait handles about 20% of global petroleum and liquefied natural gas flows, which serve as the chemical and energy backbone for pharmaceutical and medical supply manufacturing worldwide. Crude-derived intermediates such as naphtha, methanol, and other petrochemical feedstocks are refined into solvents, reagents, and packaging materials used to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), excipients, and sterilization agents. With much of this petrochemical traffic now halted, production costs and logistics bottlenecks have surged across Asia and beyond.

India—responsible for nearly 40% of global generic drug supply—is acutely exposed: over six percent of its pharmaceutical exports traverse Hormuz-bound routes, and many of its key starting materials rely on petrochemical derivatives originating in the Gulf. Furthermore, the U.S. Pharmacopeia has reported that over 58% of key starting materials for U.S.-approved APIs are sole-sourced from one country, primarily China or India, magnifying upstream vulnerability when Gulf energy inputs are disrupted. In parallel, Asian chemical producers dependent on Gulf naphtha report 70–80% feedstock exposure through Hormuz, and several have declared force majeure. Even non-pharmaceutical healthcare goods—like sterile packaging, medical plastics, and lab reagents—are affected, as polymers and resins used in their manufacture rely on Gulf-origin hydrocarbons.

Collectively, analysts estimate that roughly one-fifth to one-quarter of the world’s pharmaceutical and healthcare manufacturing ingredients are functionally dependent on feedstocks, energy, or shipping routes linked to the Strait of Hormuz. This concentration of critical inputs in a geopolitically volatile region underscores a deeper structural hazard: that modern medicine’s material foundations still flow through a single chokepoint.

 

 

Now is a good time to take stock of your prescription drugs, supplements, and preparedness in the case of domestic emergency such as a storm or flood. Many are considering the comprehensive Field Kit from The Wellness Company as an important resource to have on hand in times of uncertainty.

Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH

Chief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Company

https://www.twc.health/pages/focal-points

References:

• Logistics Middle East (2026) Measuring Global Supply Chain Reliance on Hormuz

• Upstox Originals (2026) Hormuz Crisis: Will Indian Pharma Exports Suffer?

• PharmaSource Global (2025) Iran and Strait of Hormuz Crisis – Impact on Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

• ChemAnalyst (2026) Asia’s Chemical Industry Faces Feedstock Crisis After Strait of Hormuz Shipping Disruption

• U.S. Pharmacopeia (2025) Concentrated Origins, Widespread Risk

 

Source: https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/a-chokepoint-for-modern-medicine

Iran's strikes inside UAE fuel 'rapid collapse' of genocidal RSF militia in Sudan

Drone attacks in Sudan launched by both sides of the conflict – the Sudanese army and the RSF – have killed 200 civilians so far this month 

The Cradle

MAR 13, 2026

Iran's retaliatory strikes on Israel and the UAE are contributing to a quick collapse of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a UAE-backed paramilitary group fighting in Sudan's civil war, The Canary reported on 13 March.

With weapons and funding from the UAE and Israel, the RSF has been fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 2023 in a war that has killed tens of thousands and forced 11 million people to flee their homes.

But the UAE and Israel are seeing their supply lines to the RSF disrupted amid Iranian missile and drone strikes since the start of the US-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic, starting on 28 February.

Iranian attacks have closed the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off the UAE's shipping and oil export routes, and causing severe economic losses.

According to The Canary, the RSF had been making strong gains until February; “However, Sudanese government forces have achieved a string of military victories that appear to be turning into a rout.”

The Sudanese army is successfully targeting RSF arms and supply depots, and cutting off frontline RSF troops from the ammunition, fuel, and supplies needed to fight.

In the context, the Sudanese army announced on Thursday it had captured two areas in the Blue Nile region – the southeastern province that has seen heavy fighting since January.

The 4^th Infantry Division, the army's primary command in the region, said in a statement that its troops and allied forces “cleared” Jort East and the Ballamo Camp following battles against the RSF and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Joseph Touka.

Military officials stated the operation was part of a broader campaign to secure strategic locations in the southern sector.

The Sudanese army's advance has come amid an escalation in drone attacks targeting civilians by both sides in the conflict.

The Sudanese army is advancing to recapture towns from the UAE-backed terrorist group, the RSF.

Arms supplies from the UAE to the RSF have dried up since Iran began its Operation True Promise IV.

Sudan must crush those genocidaires. pic.twitter.com/xM0HyPTwGq

— Sentletse 🇿🇦🇷🇺🇵🇸🇱🇧 (@Sentletse) March 11, 2026

UN rights chief Volker Turk stated on Thursday he was “appalled” at reports that drone attacks had killed more than 200 civilians in Sudan since 4 March.

Turk said Sudanese army drone strikes in West Kordofan had killed at least 152 civilians. Among them were at least 50 who were killed when a drone targeted a market and a hospital on 4 March in the town of Muglad.

On 7 March, Sudanese army drone attacks on two separate markets in RSF-controlled Abu Zabad and Wad Banda left at least 40 civilians dead.

Another Sudanese army drone targeted a truck carrying civilians in Al-Sunut on 10 March, reportedly killing at least 50 civilians, Volker added.

Meanwhile, the White Nile region has come under heavy attack by RSF drones since 4 March.

Volker also said that an RSF drone targeted a secondary school and a health clinic in Shukeiri village on 11 March, killing at least 17 civilians.

Increíbles imágenes que nos llegan desde Sudán.

Así recibe la multitud al Ejército de Sudán, que sigue liberando localidades ante la retirada de las Fuerzas de Apoyo Rápido.

Los rebeldes enfrentan graves problemas logísticos y de abastecimiento de armas desde que su principal… pic.twitter.com/8xs8yRN0vR

— Néstor Siurana (@NestorSiurana) March 12, 2026

Fighting has also escalated in South Sudan, as a 2018 power-sharing deal between the current President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, and his long-time rival, the detained South Sudanese former vice president Riek Machar, has been unravelling in the past year.

South Sudanese government forces announced on Thursday the recapture of the opposition-held town of Akobo following a major military offensive.

“Akobo is safe, the surrounding areas are safe,” says General Lul Ruai Koang, a spokesperson for the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF).

Before the offensive, the army had issued an evacuation order for civilians, causing some 200,000 people to flee to neighboring Ethiopia as a result.

Akobo was one of the last remaining strongholds of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) – the armed movement loyal to Riek Machar.

South Sudan gained independence in 2011 but soon descended into civil war and remains mired in extreme poverty and corruption.

 

Source: https://thecradle.co/articles-id/36461 

CIA Assessment: The Resistance cannot be crushed

 

Kit Klarenberg
Source: Al Mayadeen English
15 Mar 2026

The Israeli-American war on Iran was intended to be a lightning strike routine, fought exclusively from the air, lasting only a few days. Instead, Washington and its Zionist proxy have blundered into a major multi-front conflict, which could well threaten the Empire’s very existence. The initial US aerial bombardment’s centerpiece was the murder of Iranian Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei on February 28th. Initially hailed by Western media as “the assassination of the century,” the vile act has resulted in catastrophe for the perpetrators.

Iran's relentless battering of Zionist entity civilian centers and military and intelligence infrastructure, and US bases throughout West Asia, hasn’t been deterred one iota. Vast crowds took to the streets of Tehran in vengeful mourning. Their righteous anger has pullulated throughout the Arab and Muslim world. Ever since, incensed protestors have violently clashed with security forces in multiple major Pakistani cities. Meanwhile, Bahrain teeters on the brink of all-out revolution. Now, Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei, the martyred Leader’s son, has taken his place. 

Iranian citizens of every ethnic and religious extraction braved US-Israeli airstrikes to celebrate his ascension. Commonly perceived as a hardliner with strong ties to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, the expectation that the new Leader will adopt a considerably less conciliatory, patient approach than his father is widespread. Western sources forecast Sayyed Mojtaba may decide the Islamic Republic “must move quickly to obtain nuclear weapons in order to forestall future US and Israeli attacks,” overturning Sayyed Ali Khamenei’s longstanding fatwa against their development by Tehran.

US President Donald Trump has declared he is “not happy” with Sayyed Mojtaba taking power, and Israeli apparatchiks are likewise perturbed by the development. Nonetheless, this was an inevitable upshot of assassinating the former Leader, and there was no reason to believe doing so would precipitate the Islamic Republic’s collapse, or lead to Tehran’s military submission. It begs the obvious question of why Washington and Tel Aviv electively helped in the ascension of a ruler more committed than ever to expelling the Empire from West Asia. 

Similarly, Hezbollah’s extraordinary broadsides of the Zionist entity since Sayyed Khamenei’s assassination should dispel any notion, as perpetuated by Israeli political and military chiefs, that the group was obliterated by Tel Aviv’s criminal October 2024 invasion of Lebanon. That incursion was prefaced by an operation in which thousands of pagers used by senior Hezbollah operatives were detonated simultaneously, having been wired with explosives by Mossad pre-purchase, killing and injuring hundreds. A week-and-a-half later, the group’s Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was martyred in a Zionist entity airstrike. 

Evidently, the Resistance cannot be crushed via high-level assassinations. In fact, such actions actively strengthen its members. This uncomfortable reality has been well-known to the CIA since at least 2009. In July that year, the Agency produced a top-secret assessment laying out the pros and cons of liquidating “high value targets” (HVTs). It was prepared in advance of Barack Obama’s CIA chief Leon Panetta shifting US “counter-terror” operations from capturing and torturing high-level suspects to outright executing them.

The assessment concluded that HVT operations “can play a useful role when they are part of a broader counterinsurgency strategy,” and sought to “assist policymakers and military officers involved in authorizing or planning” such strikes. However, it listed many “potential negative effects” of “high value” assassinations. "Israel’s" past killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders were specifically cited as examples of how the strategy can spectacularly backfire. We have witnessed the CIA’s unheeded cautions play out in real-time since February 28th. 

Foremost among prospective blowback from HVT operations is the risk high-level assassinations can increase an “insurgent” group’s support. This occurs when killing a target “[strengthens] an armed group’s bond with the population, radicalizing an insurgent group’s remaining leaders, creating a vacuum into which more radical groups can enter, and escalating or deescalating a conflict in ways that favor the insurgents.” Such actions can also “[erode] the ‘rules of the game’ between the government and insurgents,” thus exacerbating “the level of violence in a conflict”:

“HVT strikes, however, may increase support for the insurgents, particularly if these strikes enhance insurgent leaders’ lore, if noncombatants are killed in the attacks, if legitimate or semilegitimate politicians aligned with the insurgents are targeted…An insurgent group’s unifying cause, deep ties to its constituency, or a broad support base can lessen the impact of leadership losses by ensuring a steady flow of replacement recruits.” 

The CIA assessment noted several historical instances of supposed HVT successes. When high-level targets have “prominent public profiles”, assassinations can, in specific instances, shatter a target group. However, this was not the case with Hamas or Hezbollah. The pair “carry out state-like functions, such as providing healthcare services,” so group leaders are well-known to citizens of Gaza and Lebanon. Yet, their “highly disciplined nature, social service network, and reserve of respected leaders” mean they can easily “reorganize” in the wake of assassinations. 

The Zionist entity had by this point been engaged in “targeted killings” against Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Resistance groups since the mid-1990s. However, their “decentralized command structures, compartmented leadership, strong succession planning, and deep ties to their communities” made them “highly resilient to leadership losses.” Undeterred, Tel Aviv’s high-level assassinations continued apace. In the early 2000s, Hamas founder Sheikh Yassin and the group’s leader in Gaza, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, were murdered. However, the killings “strengthened solidarity” between Resistance factions, while “[bolstering] support for hardline militant leaders.” 

The obvious lessons of this wanton bloodletting remained unlearned by the Zionist entity, once the Gaza Holocaust erupted. In June 2024, elite imperial journal Foreign Affairs published a report unequivocally headlined Hamas Is Winning. It boldly concluded, “Israel’s failing strategy makes its enemy stronger.” The outlet also recorded how “according to the measures that matter,” Hamas had grown considerably bigger and more powerful than on October 7th, 2023. "Israel" had thus stumbled into a deeply ruinous attritional war, with a “tenacious and deadly guerrilla force.”

Hamas’ surging popularity with Palestinians throughout the Gaza genocide was found to have significantly enhanced the group’s “ability to recruit, especially its ability to attract new generations of fighters and operatives.” This granted Hamas the ability to launch “lethal operations” in areas previously “cleared” by the IOF “easily”. Foreign Affairs charged that the Zionist entity, to its “great detriment”, failed to comprehend how “the carnage and devastation it has unleashed in Gaza has only made its enemy stronger.”

It is not just Hamas that has been galvanized by the Gaza genocide. "Israel’s" “carnage and devastation” has greatly expanded the ranks and resolve of the entire Resistance, while its constituent members have rapidly won hearts and minds within and without West Asia in ever-mounting numbers. Joint attacks on the Zionist entity have gathered in pace and intensity. With Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Iranian Leader, the Islamic Republic and all her allies are fully committed to Palestine’s long-overdue liberation, by any means necessary.

 

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.

 

Source:  https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/cia-assessment--the-resistance-cannot-be-crushed

European allies refuse US request to help open Strait of Hormuz

 

Smoke rises from the Thai bulk carrier 'Mayuree Naree' near the Strait of Hormuz after an attack, on 11 March 2026 (Handout/Royal Thai Navy/AFP) 

Middle east Eye 
16 March 2026

European allies have pushed back on a US request to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz, with Germany stating outright that the conflict with Iran was "not Nato's war".

Iran moved to close the strait last week in response to Israel and US attacks on the country, blocking a passage where more than 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supply moves through.

Despite a call from US President Donald Trump over the weekend for allied assistance, there has been widespread reluctance to get involved in the war.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's spokesman said the conflict has "nothing to do with Nato". 

"Nato is an alliance for the defence of territory," said Stefan Kornelius. "The mandate to deploy Nato is lacking" in the current situation, he told reporters.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius added that while there would be "no military participation", they would seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis. 

For his part, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also ruled out a Nato mission, but said he was working with allies to come up with a "viable" plan to reopen the waterway.

"We're working with all of our allies, including our European partners, to bring together a viable collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as quickly as possible and ease the economic impacts," he said in Downing Street.

"Let me be clear: that won't be, and it's never been envisioned to be, a Nato mission."

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said on Sunday that the British government was considering sending minesweeping drones rather than warships to Hormuz.

The French foreign ministry also confirmed that France would not send ships to the Strait, writing on X that its naval mission is in the Eastern Mediterranean and remains "defensive".

'Very bad for the future of Nato'

Spain, which has been the most vocal critic of the war on Iran in Europe, also ruled it out, with Defence Minister Margarita Robles saying Madrid was "absolutely not" mulling a military contribution. 

Poland, likewise, dismissed any involvement in a naval operation to open the strait.

The lukewarm response from European capitals came after Japan and Australia voiced similar sentiments earlier on Monday, with Canberra noting it would not be sending a navy ship to the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has warned that the refusal of allied countries to help open up the strait would be "very bad for the future of Nato", without elaborating.

A number of Scandinavian and Baltic countries, which have been keen to ensure US support over Russia's activities near their borders, suggested they were not closing the door on the issue.

"We did not want this war. From day one, we have called for de-escalation," Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, told Danish media in Brussels before an EU foreign ministers' meeting. 

"That said, I believe we need to keep an open mind and look at how we can contribute."

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told reporters in Brussels: "Nato countries should consider" a US request for help but said they would "need to see the entire operational environment and the capabilities with which we could contribute".

His Estonian counterpart said his country was "always ready for discussions with the US, including now regarding the situation in the Strait of Hormuz". 

Source: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/european-allies-refuse-us-request-help-open-strait-hormuz

The strategic dismantling of Israel

Alon Mizrahi
March 17th

Things have just got real in Tel Aviv, and Israel. The actual pain and destruction have begun. 

Earlier today, Iran targeted a train station in the center of the country. I didn't want to draw conclusions from it, and waited to see if it was the onset of something new. 

Now, there's confirmation. Iran has just destroyed one of Israel's largest train stations in Tel Aviv, and potentially incapacitated a major part of train movement in the entire country.

Israel is a tiny country and has just one major north-south railway, with the biggest stations situated in Haifa and Tel Aviv. Cutting the train movement there means Israel has no mass transit (the roads are heavily jammed routinely). 

These are also major transportation hubs, with Israel's busiest and most strategic roads going nearby; breaking some bridges along these roads puts the entire center of the country at a standstill. 

This also has far-reaching military consequences: the train is the main transportation solution for IDF soldiers. If what I suspect is taking place becomes reality, hundreds of thousands of soldiers will not be able to travel to or from home with any measure of efficacy. 

More importantly, it's going to become extremely more difficult for Israel to move large number of soldiers north or south when a major call for reservation is announced. A logistical nightmare. 

The economic implications of the train being disabled are astronomical: hundreds of thousands of Israelis travel to work each day by train. 

This could all be foreseen in advance. A year and a half ago I wrote an article titled 'Iran can end Israel in a few Hours', where I anticipated precisely this scenario. 
- 
Iran has started the strategic destruction of Israel.

 

Source: https://x.com/alon_mizrahi/status/2034051574365098140 

Lebanese Resistance foils Israeli airborne insertion in east Lebanon

Al Mayadeen English 
7 Mar 2026  

The Lebanese resistance thwarted an Israeli airborne landing attempt near the town of Nabi Sheet in eastern Lebanon, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent.

Israeli helicopters reportedly attempted to deploy forces in the area, but the troops fell into a resistance ambush, triggering intense clashes involving light and medium weapons.

مشاهد للطلقات الرشاشة والمضادات الجوية التي أُطلقت بالتزامن مع تواجد مروحيات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي شرقي البلاد.#الميادين #الميادين_لبنان pic.twitter.com/sZzhq0dDKj

— الميادين لبنان (@mayadeenlebanon) March 6, 2026

Israeli helicopters land across the Syrian border

The correspondent also reported that three Israeli helicopters landed in the Syrian mountains opposite eastern Lebanon, as the sound of heavy machine-gun fire and anti-aircraft fire echoed across the area.

Israeli aircraft subsequently carried out intense fire belts around Nabi Sheet, providing air cover for the military movement in the region.

Later, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that Israeli airstrikes on the town of Nabi Sheet in the Baalbek District resulted in the martyrdom of 3 citizens and the wounding of at least 16.

Resistance confronts Israeli occupation forces in southern Lebanon

Israeli media also confirmed that Hezbollah fighters engaged Israeli forces in the vicinity of Nabi Sheet.

Meanwhile, fierce confrontations were reported in Khiam in southern Lebanon, where the IOF attempted to advance into the area.

According to reports, Hezbollah’s Radwan Force fighters repelled the incursion, targeting Israeli troops with explosive devices and Kornet anti-tank missiles.

Israeli media described the confrontation as “very serious,” reporting that the Israeli army was struggling to extract special forces reportedly besieged in the area.

The battles come amid escalating confrontations along the Lebanese front as the regional war continues to expand.

 

Source: https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/lebanese-resistance-foils-israeli-airborne-insertion-in-east

Hegseth Brags of Mass Killings

With more than 1,000 civilian deaths in Iran, the U.S. secretary of war said the U.S. has loosened the rules of military engagement. “We are punching them while they’re down, which is exactly how it should be,” he said.

Dave DeCamp
March 5, 2026 

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday boasted of the “death and destruction” the U.S. military can rain down on Iran, as reports say that U.S. and Israeli airstrikes have killed over 1,000 Iranian civilians in just four days.

Hegseth said at a press briefing that the U.S. and Israel should soon have “complete control of Iranian skies” and that it would mean “Iranian leaders looking up and seeing only U.S. and Israeli airpower.”

“Every minute of every day until we decide it’s over, and Iran will be able to do nothing about it. B-2s, B-52s, B1s, Predator drones, fighters controlling the skies, picking targets, death and destruction from the sky all day long,” he added.

[As the Pentagon is reportedly seeking an additional $50 billion to wage its unauthorized war on Iran] Hegseth said the war wasn’t meant to be a “fair fight” and mentioned that the administration has loosened the rules of engagement for the military.

“Our war fighters have maximum authorities granted personally by the president and yours truly. Our rules of engagement are bold, precise, and designed to unleash American power, not shackle it. This was never meant to be a fair fight. And it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they’re down, which is exactly how it should be,” he said.

Hegseth said that in the attack on Iran, which he has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” the U.S. military has “delivered twice the air power of ‘Shock and Awe’ in 2003,” referring to the massive bombing campaign that opened the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said at the conference that the U.S. had hit over 2,000 targets inside Iran so far.

 

 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine conducting a press briefing Wednesday at the Pentagon on the U.S attack on Iran. (DoW /Alexander Kubitza) 

The Human Rights Activists News Agency, or HRANA, a U.S.-based and US-funded NGO that’s very critical of the Iranian government, said on Tuesday night that at least 1,097 civilians have been killed and more than 5,000 have been wounded.

Citing Iranian medical authorities, Al Jazeera also reported on Wednesday that over 1,000 civilians have been killed. The HRANA said that targets struck over the previous 24-hour period included several military bases, two medical centers, and one residential area.

The worst known civilian massacre occurred on the first day of the bombing campaign, when a missile struck an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, killing 165 people, mostly students.

Hegseth was asked about the strike and whose munition struck the school and said the U.S. military was “investigating” the matter. A map displayed during the briefing that showed areas the US had bombed showed that Minab was right in the middle of a strike zone.

The civilian death toll is expected to continue rising as Hegseth’s message during the briefing was that the war was just getting started and that more U.S. forces were on their way to the Middle East. “More bombers, fighters are arriving just today.

And now with complete control of the skies, we will be using 500-pound, 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound GPS-and-laser-guided precision gravity bombs, which we have a nearly unlimited stockpile,” he said.

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.

This article is from Antiwar.com

Source: https://consortiumnews.com/2026/03/05/hegseth-brags-of-mass-killing-in-iran/