The escalating confrontation involving the United States, Israel, and Iran is being framed as a Middle Eastern crisis. That is analytically incomplete. For Africa, it is a test of energy sovereignty. At the heart of the tension lies the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow maritime corridor through which more than a fifth of global oil consumption and a substantial share of liquefied natural gas flows daily, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The mere possibility of disruption in Hormuz does not need to materialise physically to destabilise markets. In energy economics, perception is often as powerful as blockade.