In the ancient contest over influence and oil that has long defined the Persian Gulf, Tuesday brought a new chapter: American and Saudi warplanes struck Iranian-aligned militant positions in Iraq, while Tehran's Revolutionary Guards seized three commercial tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The exchange unfolded not as open war but as the careful, dangerous language of powers testing one another's limits — each act calibrated to signal resolve without crossing the threshold into full confrontation. Global oil markets, ever sensitive to the region's tremors, rose sharply in response, reminding th