A short🧵for those insisting on a fiction: the Strait of Hormuz is not Iran’s sovereign toll gate, private cash machine, or maritime revenue stream. It is an international strait used by the world. Geography may give Iran a coastline on one side of it. It does not give Iran the right to invoice the rest of the planet for passage. The legal principle is neither exotic nor difficult. Passage through an international strait is a right of navigation, not a commercial favor extended by the nearest coastal state. The moment a country claims it can charge all vessels merely for transiting, it is no longer speaking the language of sovereignty. It is claiming discretionary control over a route the global economy depends on.

I recently sat down with a group of Palestinian Christians from Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Nazareth. They shared their struggles and asked me questions I couldn’t answer. Maybe our Christian friends in America can. Their voices deserve to be heard. A thread: One of them asked, “We are Christians, living in the land where Jesus walked, yet evangelicals in America send millions to Israeli settlers who take our land while ignoring us. Why?”

If Jesus were here today, would He support those taking Christian homes in Bethlehem or the Christians being displaced? (Matthew 25:40)

Another asked, “We hear American churches talk about supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, but never us. Aren’t we part of the same body of Christ?”

1 Corinthians 12:26 says, “If one part suffers, all suffer.” Does that not apply here?