It’s the Economy, Stupid! – RedState

Part 2

The Islamic Republic of Iran (IR) poses not only a physical danger to the United States and its citizens, but also a danger to our economic well-being. Indeed, the Middle East occupies both a crucial position in the middle of the globe and a vast source of energy, both oil and gas. Many countries in the Middle East are energy producers, including Iran, and their vital products travel from the Middle East to Europe, the United States, Asia and other parts of the world.

SEE ALSO: Why we are fighting Iran

There are two crucial choke points in the Middle East: the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al Mandeb. The Strait of Hormuz is a shipping route between Iran and Oman that functions as a vital artery for the global oil trade, with an estimated 13 million barrels per day passing through it in 2025, representing about 31% of all maritime crude flows. The Bab al Mandeb Strait is the waterway between Yemen and Djibouti that can be used to disrupt trade from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. It attracts around 12 to 15 percent of global trade and around 30 percent of global container traffic – with more than $1 trillion worth of goods moving through each year. This includes about 9 percent of global flows of oil transported by sea (around 9.2 million barrels per day at the start of 2023) and around 8 percent volumes of liquefied natural gas (LNG). An average of fifty to sixty ships pass through the canal daily, carrying an estimated $3 billion to $9 billion worth of goods.

Both of these choke points have been threatened by IR in the past. In the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq War, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and IR threatened the energy trade:

The fighting in the Gulf became known as the Tanker War, as both sides attacked hundreds of oil tankers in an attempt to disrupt the other side’s economy. Iraq, lacking a significant navy, attacked primarily from the air, while Iran used surface ships and mines in shipping lanes. Two Iranian frigates, the Sahand and the Sabalan, were particularly notorious for their brutal attacks on unarmed neutral ships.

The United States began escorting international ships through the Persian Gulf. On April 14, 1988, the American frigate Samuel B. Roberts hit an Iranian mine and narrowly escaped sinking. On April 18, 1988, President Ronald Reagan authorized Operation Praying Mantis:

(T)he US Navy destroyed two Iranian oil platforms, sank a frigate and a missile boat, crippled a second frigate, destroyed at least three armed speedboats, and chased away Iranian F-4 Phantom jets with missile strikes. In just a few hours, American forces wiped out nearly half of Iran’s operational fleet.

And IR has been a repeat offender when it comes to threatening the world and the energy trade. After October 7, 2023, the IR used its proxy, the Houthis in Yemen, to terrorize international shipping in the Red Sea, resulting in the hijacking of nearly 25% of global maritime capacity. This diversion added thousands of miles and a week or two to trips, disrupting the supply chain and increasing inflation.

The United States was once again forced to intervene. From March to May 2025, the United States launched a massive campaign of air and naval strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, dubbed Operation Rough Rider.

In this most recent conflict, as RedState reported, the IR is once again firing missiles at neighboring countries and attempting to disrupt international trade passing through the Strait of Hormuz:

Only three oil ships from the Persian Gulf monarchies passed through the strategic waterway on Sunday, according to Kpler. This led to a collapse in exports from 22 million barrels per day to 2.8 million barrels per day, the commodities data company said. Around 706 non-Iranian tankers are now anchored outside the strait, unable to cross it, he added.

As a result, President Trump announced:

If necessary, the US Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible. Regardless, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW OF ENERGY to the WORLD. America’s ECONOMIC and MILITARY POWER IS THE GREATEST ON EARTH – More to come.

READ MORE: Maritime lifeline: Trump offers Strait of Hormuz naval escorts, political risk insurance

China’s Operation Epic Fury energy crisis is just a taste of what’s yet to come

Certainly, this time, IR is disrupting international trade because the United States and Israel launched a kinetic attack against the IR. But the IR also behaves as it always does when in danger: widely attacking other nations, many of which are not involved in hostilities, and thereby endangering international trade. And there is nothing unusual or unprecedented about the United States, or any other country, resorting to kinetic actions in response to foreign actions that could harm their economy.

In fact, there is a term for this type of kinetic action, as described by renowned foreign policy expert Walter Russell Mead: “gunboat” diplomacy.

Therefore, the U.S. decision to attack IR, aiming for the destruction of its troops and leadership, could deter, punish, and even destroy an enemy regime with a track record of endangering global trade, particularly energy trade, and would thus serve our national interest in protecting the American homeland and people.

To be continued…