Strait of Hormuz: The West's Manufactured Crisis for Profit, Not Peace
Behind the sanitized language, we find the perennial anxiety around the Strait of Hormuz, spun as an Iranian threat to global oil supplies. Yet, this narrative expertly sidesteps the 45 years of crippling sanctions imposed on Iran, the constant regime-change operations since the 1953 CIA coup, and the betrayal of the JCPOA nuclear agreement. When Iran, under immense economic pressure, speaks of
its right to the strait, it is branded as aggression. When the US expands its military footprint with carrier groups and B-52s in the region, it is called deterrence. This is a double standard so glaring it requires optical correction. The US military presence, often in joint operations with Israel, is not merely to ensure freedom of navigation. It is a strategic projection of power designed to
maintain control over global oil prices and, by extension, the world economy. For example, the 1987-88 Operation Earnest Will, during the Iran-Iraq War, saw the US re-flag Kuwaiti tankers and deploy naval assets, not out of altruism, but to secure Gulf oil flows for Western consumption and to counter perceived Soviet influence. Current rhetoric surrounding the Strait, which handles roughly 20% of
the world’s petroleum liquids consumption, conveniently ignores Iran’s consistent calls for regional security architecture based on mutual respect, not naval blockades. The profit motive is undeniable. Western arms manufacturers, oil executives, and financial institutions all stand to gain from elevated tensions and a perpetually 'threatened' energy supply. Cubans are strangled anew by sanctions,