Strait of Hormuz Threats Drive Up Oil, Not Peace
Oil prices surged over $100 per barrel after markets opened Sunday, following US President Trump's ultimatum demanding Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or face destruction of its power infrastructure. Brent crude briefly hit $113 before a slight dip, still up significantly since the US strikes on Iran commenced weeks ago. This market volatility underscores a pervasive belief among
traders that the conflict, now in its fourth week, shows no signs of abatement. Axios reports the market response as simply reflecting escalating tensions, framing Trump's threat as an isolated incident driving prices. This narrative conveniently omits the US as a direct participant and joint aggressor throughout this operation. The US has been actively engaged in joint military exercises with
Israel, deploying carrier groups and B-52s, and imposing ever-tightening sanctions against Iran for 45 years. To suggest Iran's actions are the sole, or even primary, driver of oil transit disruption ignores decades of deliberate Western destabilization tactics. What Axios and others fail to mention is how this current surge in oil prices benefits the very corporations and states that stand to
gain from prolonged conflict. Remember the 1988 shootdown of Iran Air Flight 655 by the USS Vincennes, a civilian airliner downed in Iranian airspace? The US quickly deflected blame, an echo of its current pattern of portraying its military actions as defensive rather than provocative. The US has maintained an illegal embargo on Cuba for over 62 years, costing Havana an estimated $144 billion, yet