AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The US President, in an interview published on Friday, once again referred to his fear of a global shortage of oil reserves as a result of continuing the war against Iran.
Donald Trump said in his interview with Axios, “If we had continued bombing Iran, we would right now be witnessing the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Trump continued, “The entire strait would have been mined, and missiles would have been flying over billion-dollar ships – ships that would never again dare to set sail or move; and we would have had no oil for months.”
Responding to American critics who believe he should have taken a tougher stance against Iran and continued the war, he said, “The only way I could have been tougher was to go there for another two or three weeks and keep bombing them, right? But what does that get us? The Strait of Hormuz will not reopen.”
The US President added, “We would have had no oil for months. As long as you are dropping bombs, that strait remains automatically closed.”
He further added, “This is what could cause a global recession.”
The Axios news outlet had reported yesterday, citing a knowledgeable source, that Trump during the war had expressed concern in private circles that global oil reserves were being depleted, and had said that if the strait remained closed, a global oil shock might occur.
Statistics on US oil reserves also indicate that the risk of an oil crisis still exists. Crude oil reserves at the largest commercial storage hub in the US, Cushing, Oklahoma, have reached 20 million barrels – the lowest level in 11 years.
Strategic oil reserves, which were established to manage global oil supply, have also fallen to their lowest level in history, at 340 million barrels.
For more than a month, executives of major US oil companies have been warning that by late June to early July, US oil reserves will reach the operational stress point – meaning they will no longer have the capacity to compensate for shortages.
In the five days since the announcement of the understanding between Iran and the US, 18 million barrels of Iranian oil have entered the market, and yesterday, 6 million barrels of Saudi oil also exited the Strait of Hormuz.
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