Do we still need the Strait of Hormuz? A top Trump official says no

Is the Strait of Hormuz still essential to global oil markets? One of President Trump’s top officials says its days are numbered.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this month that the waterway is fading in importance. “The strait is never going back to the way it was because the Iranians have used, or tried to use it, as a chokepoint,” Mr. Bessent said. Within two years, he predicted, “more than 50% or 70%” of the oil once shipped through the strait will instead move through underground pipelines.

Iran severely restricted shipping through the strait in March, retaliating against U.S.-Israeli airstrikes. Attacks and mine threats have since cut oil flow through the passage to less than half of prewar levels, pushing gas prices above $4 a gallon nationwide.

In response, Gulf nations are racing to build workarounds. Saudi Arabia is shipping crude through its Red Sea port of Yanbu, and the United Arab Emirates is expanding its Fujairah terminal, aiming to double output by 2027. Iraq is also exploring reviving an old pipeline route to Syria.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Navy protection and new pipelines have flows nearing 15 million barrels a day. Not everyone agrees. Joel Rayburn, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, put the realistic figure closer to 12 million to 13 million barrels — still far below the 20 million that once flowed daily before the war.

Read more:

• Is the Strait of Hormuz becoming obsolete? Gulf nations quietly build a way around Iran