The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, May 8, edition that the Iranian blockade of the Gulf of Hormuz hurts the global economy and the economies of the Gulf states. The Globe's Tony Keller reports that the U.S. counterblockade hurts Iran more. On Thursday evening, fighting resumed as Iran reportedly fired on U.S. Navy ships in the strait, leading to U.S. air strikes in Iran. Both sides seemed to escalate tensions to compel de-escalation. President Donald Trump should never have started the war, among other reasons because military force cannot achieve strategic objectives such as regime change or ending Iran's nuclear program. The long-standing tactic of economic cold war was far more effective. However, if Mr. Trump can show patience, and avoid sabotaging negotiations that offer him the best hope of extraction from his quagmire, the economic pressure on Iran may bring the war to a modestly satisfactory conclusion. Or at least a not entirely unsatisfactory end. The least-bad outcome is a return to the status quo. The two sides would call it a draw. The Tehran regime would remain very much in power. But free passage through the strait would return.