With conflict escalating in Iran and across neighboring regions in West Asia, the immediate and overriding concern is the loss of human life and the suffering of civilians.
According to reports, over 1,800 people have been killed in the first 12 days of the war, predominantly in Iran and Lebanon as a result of U.S. and Israeli strikes.The geographic scope of these tensions extends far beyond Iran’s borders. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and Iran all face escalating risks, with some regions also facing mass displacement as well as far-reaching economic and humanitarian consequences.
What is Iran’s role in global trade?
Iran occupies one of the most strategically important geographic positions in global trade. The country sits at the intersection of major commercial routes connecting regional markets from the Caucasus to South Asia.
Iran also holds the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves (after Russia) and the third-largest oil reserves (after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia).[1] Beyond energy, Iran produces and exports a range of goods that feed into global markets, including petrochemicals such as alcohol-based chemicals and ethylene polymers, as well as agricultural products such as pistachios and fresh fruits, and a variety of minerals and metals. Many industries are strongly connected to the state and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Graphic: Lou Robinson, CNN
The most critical element of this geography is the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz lies between Iran, Oman and the UAE and is the only sea route connecting the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. It is widely considered one of the most important energy chokepoints in the world. Around 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas exports pass through the strait, making it a critical artery for global energy markets.[2]
Beyond energy, 25–35% of global fertilizer raw materials pass through the Strait of Hormuz.[3]
Graphic: Lou Robinson, CNN
Even where trade with Iran may be limited for some countries due to sanctions, global supply chains remain deeply connected to the region’s infrastructure, energy systems and maritime routes.
However, the situation in Iran cannot be understood only through the lens of trade disruption. For businesses connected to the region, the human impacts of the crisis are a critical factor when considering their response.
How does the conflict in West Asia impact human rights along supply chains?
Although geopolitical tensions dominate the headlines, workers are often the ones who overwhelmingly feel the impact when conflict destabilizes trade routes.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered immediate disruption across regional and global supply chains. Threats to shipping through the strait can have wide-ranging consequences, including:
- immediate oil price spikes
- rising freight and insurance costs
- shipping diversions
- severe disruption to energy-intensive manufacturing.
These disruptions are already affecting export-oriented industries in Asia.[4] Large volumes of garments are currently waiting to be shipped from ports, while export orders have been temporarily paused. Such delays raise serious concerns about the knock-on effects for suppliers and workers, including the risk of factory closures, delayed or unpaid wages and additional costs being pushed down the supply chain.[5]
Agricultural supply chains may also be affected. With fertilizer markets heavily depending on maritime routes through the Gulf, prolonged disruption could increase input costs for farmers worldwide and place further pressure on food systems.
Moreover, seafarers have also been stuck in the crossfire. Shipping disruptions due to heightened security risks and restricted port access have left many crews stranded at sea and without repatriation routes.[6]
Many seafarers are also migrant workers. More broadly, the crisis highlights the plights of millions of migrant workers, predominantly from South and Southeast Asia, living and working in GCC countries who are among the least visible yet most affected by regional instability. Reports indicate that the suspension of commercial flights across parts of the region has left significant numbers of migrant workers stranded.
The Coalition on Labor Justice for Migrants in the Gulf has highlighted several risks migrant workers face in the current environment[7], including:
- Lack of freedom of movement due to the continuation of the kafala system, which leaves many migrant workers without access to their passports and ties their legal status directly to their employer.
- The risk that employers may exploit crisis conditions by reducing or withholding wages, denying leave or dismissing workers without compensation.
- Limited access to information, exclusion from evacuation procedures and lack of access to protective infrastructure such as bomb shelters.
Past crises have shown that cost pressures are often transferred along supply chains and influence conditions at supplier level, including those affecting workers.
Beyond the immediate crisis, Iran’s domestic labor environment already presents significant concerns. Trade unions are heavily restricted, labor activism is frequently criminalized, and large segments of the workforce operate in informal and often unsafe working conditions. Since the escalation of hostilities in June 2025 (also known as the 12-day war), as a result of Israeli and US strikes on Iran and subsequent retaliation, intensified internal crackdowns and mass arrests have further deteriorated conditions for an already vulnerable workforce, particularly ethnic minorities, women and children.
What should companies with business links to West Asia do?
Companies operating in, sourcing from or otherwise connected to the region, whether through logistics, services or commodity supply chains, should continue to strengthen their human rights due diligence and ensure conflict-sensitive practices are in place.
In conflict-affected areas, businesses are not neutral actors. Their presence, investments and purchasing decisions can influence the dynamics of a conflict.[8] Companies therefore need to operate in a conflict-sensitive manner and take steps to ensure their activities do not exacerbate existing tensions or contribute to the violations of international law, including international humanitarian law.
One way companies can assess the relationship between their operations and conflict dynamics is by applying the UNDP four-factor framework, outlined in the UNDP Guide for Heightened Human Rights Due Diligence for Business in Conflict-Affected Contexts. This framework helps companies evaluate how their activities may interact with conflict risks by assessing:
- Business impact on power dynamics and relationships
- Business links to conflict actors
- Business impact on the underlying causes of conflict
- Business impact on conflict dynamics
With the situation in the region changing rapidly, it is important for companies to remain agile and monitor developments in real time. Companies should map their supply chains to identify exposure to conflict-related risks and maintain ongoing engagement with stakeholders in the region to stay informed about how the conflict is evolving and its impacts on people on the ground. This is particularly urgent given the speed at which conditions are deteriorating across Iran, the GCC, and neighboring countries.
Where risks are identified, companies should use whatever leverage they have to prevent or mitigate harms before considering disengagement. Disengagement should be a last resort, pursued only when a company has exhausted its leverage. The decision to exit requires careful weighing of whether disengagement would itself cause greater harm than remaining with safeguards in place. Where exit is determined to be necessary, a responsible exit plan should be developed, including transition support for affected workers and communities
At a time of escalating conflict, it may be tempting for companies to shift attention away from human rights due diligence in order to focus on operational or logistical challenges. However, this is not a moment to look away. On the contrary, periods of crisis are precisely when human rights due diligence becomes most critical.
At CORE, we are seeing a growing number of companies contacting us to better understand their links to conflict-affected and high-risk areas and seek guidance on heightened human rights due diligence. If your business is in a similar situation and you would like to assess your business links to conflict and your human rights risks, please feel free to reach out to the CORE team at hello@peopleatcore.com.
If you’re looking for general recommendations, , the following resources may be particularly useful for understanding conflict dynamics and strengthening human rights due diligence:
- A selection of resources to support the assessment of conflict dynamics and related human rights risks: https://lnkd.in/dtYG6-bW
- Sudan’s Conflict: The Case for Heightened Human Rights Due Diligence: https://lnkd.in/d3ZBSKz6
- When “Low-Risk” Isn’t Low Risk Anymore: Rethinking U.S. Risks in Human Rights Due Diligence: https://lnkd.in/dZYneePa
[3] Business and Human Rights Centre
[5] Business and Human Rights Center
[6] International Transport Workers‘ Federation
[7] Coalition of Labor Justice for Migrants in the Gulf
[8] Business and Human Rights Centre
