CNN - Two months into the Iran war, almost everybody is a loser
effects,” Melanie Sisson, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, told CNN.
Here is where the key actors stand.
Losers
The Iranian people
It is always the ordinary people, in any conflict anywhere in the world, that have by far the most to lose from a war – and nowhere is this truer than in Iran.
The Iranian people have found themselves under fire from both the outside and the inside. The US and Israel have struck thousands of targets in Iran – including some attacks on civilian infrastructure – killing more than 3,600 people, including more than 1,700 civilians, according to the advocacy group Human Rights Activists in Iran. Trump has gone as far as threatening to destroy Iran’s “whole civilization’’ if the country’s rulers don’t bend to his demands.
At the same time, the Iranian regime has stepped up its brutal crackdown on dissent. The regime’s new leadership, under Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, appears to be even harsher than the previous one, eager to send a message to anyone who dares to challenge it.
According to rights groups, more than 600 people have been executed by the government since the start of the year, after thousands were killed during protests in late December and January. And Iranians have been under a government-imposed internet blackout for more than eight weeks.
The Iranian economy has also suffered a heavy blow, leading to job losses and rising poverty.
The Lebanese people
The Lebanese people have been caught up in the conflict between Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, and Israel for decades. A fragile ceasefire was in place until February, when, after Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Hezbollah began firing at Israel.
Israel retaliated by launching a wave of deadly airstrikes and a deeper ground incursion aimed at destroying Hezbollah. More than 2,500 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since they began on March 2, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
A CNN analysis of satellite images suggest that Israel has adopted the same strategy in Lebanon it previously used in Gaza, and is now razing whole villages to the ground. Israel has said that the 600,000 people that have been displaced in southern Lebanon won’t be allowed to return to their homes until Hezbollah no longer threatens northern Israel.
Gulf countries
Countries across the Gulf have found themselves deeply impacted by a war they didn’t want and tried hard to prevent.
Despite their proximity to many of the most devastating conflicts in recent years, they had enjoyed decades of stability and prosperity – until Iran began retaliating against the US and Israel by attacking them.
The United Arab Emirates has been by far the hardest hit, targeted by more Iranian missiles and drones than any other country, including Israel. While the vast majority have been intercepted, the damage has been done, threatening the UAE’s status as a regional business and tourism hub.
Meanwhile, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran has had a crippling impact on Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait, which rely on the narrow maritime shipping passage to sell their oil, natural gas and other exports.
The International Monetary Fund has slashed its economic growth forecasts for these countries and expects the economies of Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait to contract this year.
The American people
The war has been punishing for Americans and their wallets. They are already paying more for gasoline and air tickets as well as some services as more businesses start adding a fuel surcharge to their prices. Annual inflation rose to 3.3% in March, up from 2.4% in February. Consumer sentiment is plunging.
“There’s not a delicate way to say it: the situation for the United States right now is not good,” Sisson, of the Brookings Institute, said. “The US economy is heavily dependent on oil to fuel transportation of people and goods and is under-invested in renewable energies.”
The global economy and consumers everywhere
Consumers across the world are already getting squeezed by the impacts of the war.
The situation has been particularly dire in Asia, where many countries rely on imports for oil and other petrochemicals used in manufacturing. People in Latin America are struggling to cope with the higher prices of energy and food. The crisis is straining already struggling economies across Africa. And there are warnings of a “major shock” from the European Central Bank.
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