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Home / US-Israel-Iran / America First!? Why Trump Is Making U.S. Taxpayers Pay to Keep Hormuz Open for the World
US‑Israel‑Iran, Iran, Middle East

August 30, 2026

America First!? Why Trump Is Making U.S. Taxpayers Pay to Keep Hormuz Open for the World

Drop Site’s Ryan Grim speaks with Rosemary Kelanic, director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities and author of “Black Gold and Blackmail,” about her provocative New York Times essay, “Let Iran Control the Strait of Hormuz.” Kelanic argues that the U.S. should stop risking American lives and spending tens of billions of dollars to guarantee free oil transit for the world, and instead accept an Iranian-Omani toll system.

They also discuss why oil markets have avoided collapse, how China’s reserves and global rerouting have softened the shock, why EVs could end America’s dependence on Gulf oil, and why Trump’s push to control Venezuelan reserves would do little to replace the supply once flowing through Hormuz.

Watch at Drop Site News

Featuring

Rosemary
Kelanic

Director, Middle East Program

Defense Priorities

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