In India, while the government of Narendra Modi has professed itself a close ally of Israel, the people, who share a historical and cultural affinity with Iran, have responded differently. Residents of New Delhi, including Hindu nationalist supporters of Mr. Modi, brought enough donations to the door of the Iranian Embassy to fund a shipment of medication. In Kashmir, farmers donated their sheep, and women donated their gold bangles and daughters’ trousseaux to an aid collection drive.
In other parts of the world, the war quickly kicked up long-simmering concerns about sovereignty. In Africa, autonomy-seeking movements are already driving politics in West Africa and the Sahel, seeking to reduce dependence on Europe’s donors and end partnerships with its militaries. Those movements now look prescient, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has exacted a brutal price across the continent.
The war in Iran is a “warning,” wrote Faiez Jacobs, a former South African lawmaker, arguing that wars “now arrive in households through petrol prices, electricity insecurity, bread costs and job losses.” His argument, echoed widely in the continent’s press, is that Africa must detach from “systems designed elsewhere and controlled elsewhere,” and turn to continental and BRICS cooperation on everything from payment alternatives and industrial corridors to maritime strategies.
There are exceptions, of course, especially among countries that are deeply polarized along religious lines, or those that have strong ties to Israel and the Persian Gulf states. Many governments have chosen to simply say nothing, in some cases, perhaps, out of concern over where Mr. Trump will turn his attention next.
In Cuba, people follow the conflict avidly during the short hours of the day when they have electricity, the historian Sara Kozameh told me. “For Cubans, it matters whether Iran wins, since a defeat of the United States could reduce the likelihood of an attack on Cuba,” she said. “But they also understand that Trump needs to feel like he got a win, so that he doesn’t attack Cuba to get one.”
