Iran fires hypersonic missile at Israel and threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz: specter of a global oil shock

The missile of rupture

The world held its breath on the night of June 17-18. Far from cautious negotiations, measured words, or hushed influence plays, Iran preferred the brilliance of a frontal gesture: a Fattah-1 hypersonic missile, a jewel of military technology, was fired toward Israel. A projectile both lightning-fast and terribly agile, capable of in-flight maneuvers, crossing the sky at an incredible speed. While the Israeli army claims to have neutralized the threat, the symbolic significance is not.

This launch is the brutal materialization of a rupture. For weeks, tensions between Israel and Iran had been rising like a black tide. Targeted strikes by the IDF, operations by the Revolutionary Guards, encrypted messages sent via missiles: everything pointed to an escalation. But by resorting to hypersonic weapons, Tehran has crossed a technological threshold that worries even the most hardened strategists. This is no longer a standoff. It's a demonstration.

In an IRGC Statement:
Fattah missiles have delivered Iran's message of power to TelAviv's warming ally. Tonight's missile strikes demonstrated our complete dominance over the skies of the occupied territories. Their residents are now entirely defenseless against the attacks. pic.twitter.com/Avr34JgBzI

— Iran Front Page - IFP News (@IranFrontPage) June 18, 2025

Hormuz, the throat of the world

Iran didn't stop there. As if to add an extra shiver of terror to this launch, Tehran declared its readiness to close the Strait of Hormuz. A threat with far-reaching consequences, often waved like a sword of Damocles but rarely taken literally. This time, the situation has changed.

Hormuz is a 39-km-wide corridor, a necessary passage for nearly 20% of the world's oil. Closing it, even partially, would dry up the vital flow of the global economy. Experts are already talking about a catastrophic scenario: a barrel at $120, tankers blocked or diverted, markets in panic, fragile currencies collapsing.

The slightest tension in this corridor, already riddled with underlying conflicts, is enough to drive up insurance premiums, delivery times, and prices at the pump. This time, with an open conflict as a backdrop, the blockade hypothesis is no longer theoretical. Iran has the military means to act: naval drones, underwater mines, anti-ship missiles. And above all, it has a political motive: to show that the war is no longer confined to the Levant, but that it can spill over into the veins of globalization.

Africa under pressure, but not without maps

As with every oil shock, it is the most vulnerable who will pay the price. Africa, a major importer of hydrocarbons, already strangled by foreign currency debts and tattered public budgets, is on the verge of suffocation. In the continent's major cities, fuel price increases are instantly felt: transportation, bread, rice, electricity... everything follows. And anger is brewing.

The last outbreak in 2022 was enough to spark massive social movements in Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia. The upcoming one could be even more violent, as it comes at a time of political exhaustion, pent-up frustrations, and governments often disconnected from everyday realities.

But this crisis also hides an opportunity. African oil-producing countries (Nigeria, Angola, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon) are seeing their oil become strategic again. The major powers are seeking to break free from their dependence on the Middle East. They are now looking toward the Gulf of Guinea, the Niger Delta's oil fields, and Angolan export terminals.

This renewed interest can be monetized, if it is well managed. Africa can set its own conditions, demand investments, demand technology transfers, and fairer contracts. Provided it doesn't give in to the temptation to sell quickly and poorly. Provided it speaks with one voice, too.

The paradox is cruel: the continent could benefit from a crisis of which it is also a victim. But it is no longer a question of remaining passive. African oil, hitherto sold off cheaply, can become a diplomatic currency, a strategic lever. But it must be used intelligently.