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Feeding Resilience: The Conflict, Climate, and Food Nexus of the War in Iran
By Erin Sikorsky and Noah Fritzhand
In 2023, the Center for Climate and Security (CCS) launched the Feeding Resilience project to examine the intersection of food, climate, and national security. One of the precipitating shocks informing the project was the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent global food crisis that stemmed not only from the conflict but also from climate change-driven hazards and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Food prices reached an all-time high in the summer of 2022, and Russia wasted no time in exploiting the fragile global food system for its political ends. As we wrote in 2022, these conditions impacted countries outside Eastern Europe, including Somalia, where consecutive droughts compounded with price shocks, Ecuador and Panama, where food shortages sparked protests.
Now, with the war in Iran, we have a second tragic example of how conflict and climate shocks intersect with one another to negatively affect food security worldwide. The conflict poses risks to food security at the local, regional, and global levels – risks amplified by intensifying extreme weather and climate hazards. Further compounding the crisis is the global humanitarian support system’s current lack of preparedness, with agencies like the World Food Program woefully underfunded. This post takes each of these challenges in turn.
(more…)Watch: The Iran War: Implications for Food, Water, and Energy Security
In case you missed it, watch the recent webinar where experts from the Center for Climate and Security discuss the energy, water, and food implications of the ongoing war in Iran. The discussion was moderated by CCS Director Erin Sikorsky and featured speakers Tom Ellison, CCS Deputy Director, Swathi Veeravalli, CCS Advisory Board Member, and CCS Non-resident Fellows Dr. Cullen Hendrix, Peter Schwartzstein, and Dr. Marcus D. King.
Event: The Iran War: Implications for Food, Water, and Energy Security
The ongoing US and Israeli conflict with Iran has expanded across the Middle East, and is already upending economic markets and regional security. On March 10, 2026, the Center for Climate & Security will host a webinar and audience Q&A on the food, water, & energy implications of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
Event Information
The Iran War: Implications for Food, Water, and Energy Security
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
12:00 to 1:00 pm ET
Zoom webinar; Registration requested
Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future? Taking Stock of Global Food Security after the 2025 World Food Forum
This article was originally published by the Australian Institute of International Affairs. This article is published under a Creative Commons License and may be republished with attribution.
This year’s World Food Forum focused on partnerships for better foods and a better future, yielding impressive commitments from governments and international organisations to sustainable agriculture, youth-led solutions, and technical innovation. However, several underlying challenges remain, including divisions between the security and food communities, lagging investments, significant infrastructure gaps, and a cadence of multilateral summits that seems disconnected from the challenges on the ground.
In mid-October, over 16,000 participants gathered in Rome for the World Food Forum, an annual flagship event facilitated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to connect government leaders, multilateral organisations, youth organisers, and food systems innovators. Given its explicit focus on youth, science, innovation, and investment, the Forum served as a critical stocktaking moment for areas of opportunity – and challenges ahead in the agri-food space. Supported by record levels of participation, the Forum yielded some critical outputs, including:
- Investment pledges of $17.2 billion, demonstrating a continued interest in and commitment to food security;
- A focus on youth-led solutions and innovation, potentially signaling a shift from top-down HQ-driven policy to more multi-stakeholder or agile models;
- Recognition of the need to break down silos, particularly in addressing the convergence of water, health, and food systems; and
- An elevation of cultural heritage and equity, particularly indigenous methods for preserving biodiversity, farming, and food traditions.
Despite these ambitious commitments, a sobering political and financial reality lies ahead, particularly in light of a more fractured geopolitical and multilateral environment than leaders faced in previous forums. This underlines some critical questions for those working on global food security, many of which remain largely unaddressed in bilateral, regional, and multilateral convenings. These include:
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