Donald Trump Demands Low Oil Prices After the U.S. Attacked Iran
When deciding to launch a bomb (or several dozen) at another nation, it is critical to consider that even though the target of your munitions may be thousands of miles away, the geopolitical and economic fallout could extend far beyond tit-for-tat airstrikes.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump authorized potentially crippling strikes against three of Iran’s nuclear research and development sites, and now the world waits for potential retaliation. Outside of lobbing their own bombs, one option being floated by Iran is cutting off access to the Strait of Hormuz — a 90-mile stretch of water that connects the Persian Gulf and its surrounding oil-rich nations — to the open ocean. Approximately 30 percent of global liquid natural gas and 20 percent of the world’s oil pass through the strait. Its closure would cause oil prices to soar.
Oil prices are set on a global market, but in Trump’s mind, the consequences of committing an act of war against a global oil-baron can be staved off with a stern Truth Social post.
“EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I’M WATCHING! YOU’RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON’T DO IT!” The President wrote on his personal social media platform Monday morning.
In a separate post, Trump demanded that the Department of Energy “DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! And I mean NOW!!!” Of course, there are not necessarily spare oil refineries, wells, and accompanying infrastructure waiting to be activated in the event of the president choosing to commit an act of war because he thinks it will play well on Fox News.
According to a Monday report from CNBC, shipping groups are already taking steps to avoid the Strait of Hormuz — or outright pausing transit through the area — in an attempt to avoid any potential fallout. The Iranian parliament has already backed a potential blockade of the strait.
In an effort to stave off another blow to global energy markets already strained by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the United States has apparently been forced to turn to another nation that is supremely irked with the American president’s impulsiveness: China.
In a Sunday interview with Fox Business, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he “would encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call [Iran] about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil.”
The United States and China remain locked in a tense tug of war over Trump’s effort to slap potentially ruinous tariffs on goods imported from the nation earlier this year, resulting in a protracted trade war that was put on ice only after Trump agreed to a 90-day stay on the enforcement of the highest trade penalties.
For now China is keeping its cards close to its chest. On Sunday, China’s United Nations Ambassador told a state-controlled broadcaster that while Iran took significant damage the strikes “also harmed is U.S. credibility — as a country and as a party to any international negotiations.”
