Syria’s lucky moment

Iraqi trucks lining up as they leave after unloading oil at the Baniyas refinery in Baniyas, western Syria. — AP

WHEN the conflict that engulfed the Middle East in recent months cut off access to one of the world’s most important shipping routes, Syria saw an opportunity.

With multiple Mediterranean ports and borders with Turkiye, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, the country offers a desperately- needed alternative to the blocked Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that, before the war, was used to transport a hefty share of the global oil supply.