Trump’s latest threat is suicide for the US economy

Now, Trump is threatening to double down on his Iran disaster.

“President Donald J. Trump threatened Friday to destroy Iran’s major oil terminal on Kharg Island if Tehran continued to obstruct shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Trump fancies himself as a deal-maker. Any deal-maker who can bankrupt a casino is a fool. This latest threat is foolish on stilts.

Ca. 90% Iran’s oil ships out of Kharg. If that terminal is destroyed, it will effectively cut off all oil income to Iran. Trump apparently thinks either (a) Iran will cave at the threat or (b) he can in will carry out the threat and only Iran will pay the price. Trump has forgotten the Samson Option.

“Iran, having been deprived of its livelihood at Kharg, will take down the oil facilities of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. It has the drones and missiles to do so. Oil is, to say the least, flammable. So it can be done. As we saw in Kuwait after the Gulf War, when Iraqi troops set oil rig fires in Kuwait, they are almost impossible to put out in a short time. It takes years. The rigs and terminals would have to be rebuilt. If all Gulf oil is taken off the market for several years, the price of petroleum would go to $200, maybe $300 a barrel and the world economy would be thrown into a long-term recession. It would be a “shock without precedent.” 

Let’s hope he’s bluffing.

https://www.juancole.com/2026/03/samson-reprisals-economy.html

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