New Delhi, April 20 -- A week is a long time in geopolitics. Consider the Hormuz flip in the theatre of economic warfare. Last Monday, after peace talks failed, America sought to choke Iran's economy with an armed blockade of Iranian ports.

On Friday, after a US-pushed Israel agreed to a regionwide pause in the war they jointly began, Tehran declared that strait open to all traffic for the ceasefire period via a sealane that hugs Iran's coast.

The White House began to wax victorious and energy markets eased on signs of a resolution in sight. But by Saturday, Tehran had clamped the Strait of Hormuz shut again, even firing at a couple of Indian-flagged vessels.

Iran's shots rang out loud and clear, as if to restore its control of oil and...