Kuala Lampur, March 28 -- The world is already hurting. What began as a calibrated confrontation in West Asia has now metastasised into a full-blown geopolitical and economic shock that is reverberating far beyond the Middle East.

One month into the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, the damage is no longer confined to missiles, drones, or strategic facilities.

It is now deeply embedded in global markets, supply chains, and the daily cost of living from Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu.

At the centre of this intensifying crisis is a dangerous new possibility: the deployment of American ground troops to seize strategic islands in the Strait of Hormuz.

Among the targets reportedly under consideration are Kharg Island - thr...