The yacht of Alexei Mordashov - one of the richest Russians, with assets of $37 billion - calmly sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on April 25. Mordashov is on the US, EU and UK sanctions lists. His yacht, 142 meters long, is under sanctions. The Strait of Hormuz is blocked for Iranian exports. And yet - it sailed. With no obstacle.

In parallel, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz commented that "a whole nation has been humiliated" - referring to the way the Iranian side ran the negotiations with American diplomats. Iran put forward a three-step peace plan: first a ceasefire and guarantees, then the reopening of the strait, then talks on the nuclear program. Trump refused the proposal.

The economic situation is critical for Iran: according to Bloomberg, the country has only 12 to 22 days of crude oil reserves left, due to a US blockade that has cut exports by 70%. Millions of Iranians have lost their jobs. Inflation is close to 70%, and the IMF expects GDP to fall by 6.1% this year. BP, in the same period, posted profits that doubled - high oil prices serve them just fine.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned of a "dangerous precedent," stressing that the blockade strongly hits the Asia-Pacific region through which a fifth of the world's oil and LNG shipments pass. For the Balkans, every escalation means more expensive fuel - not tomorrow, but already today.