Volatility might be plaguing oil and energy markets in the aftermath of U.S. strikes on Iran, but one expert is signaling that America remains protected from any retaliatory action which could instead backfire on one of its greatest adversaries.
“Iran is overplaying their hand here,” Independent Women’s Forum Center for Energy and Conservation Director Gabriella Hoffman told Fox News Digital on Monday.
“People will see that it’s them playing politics with energy markets and the transport of fuel through those regions,” she added. “And it’s going to open the door to more countries wanting to create energy deals with us so they’re not reliant on Iran, China and other bad actors.”
Late Saturday, President Donald Trump launched a surprise attack on three of Iran’s most prominent nuclear sites. He addressed the country publicly, confirming that Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities were “totally obliterated.”
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Iranian state television reports that parliament approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz. If also passed by Iran’s national security council, it could have a sizable impact on 20% of global petroleum liquids or about 20 million barrels per day.
“You have to be heightened to the activities over there. You’re looking at the Strait of Hormuz, how much U.S. oil and gas is transported, [it’s] not a big amount. It’s more concerning for those in the Asian markets,” Hoffman reacted.
“We’re starting to ramp up domestic production here, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been replenished. In the event of some sort of unforeseen event or effects from these strikes, we will see a little bit of buffer and protection here in the United States,” the expert continued. “They’re playing with fire… There is cause for concern, but I think we are much better insulated against any retaliation.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that blocking the waterway would be a “terrible mistake” and “economic suicide,” and urged Beijing to “call [Iran] about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil.”
“China’s not gonna be happy,” Hoffman said. “They’ll blame the U.S., of course, but I think it’s going to be the countries we’ve been trying to build relationships with in the Middle East – UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia – and they’re gonna get angry and realize it’s not the U.S. that’s doing this and creating more pressure than needed. It’s Iran.”
In reaction to the attacks, crude oil rose in early trading Monday.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped 4% and topped $76 per barrel before pulling back to the $74 per barrel level around 8 a.m. ET. Brent Crude, the international benchmark, rose to more than $77 a barrel.
“In the short term, we will probably see a spike in gas prices, but they were already starting to go up because of the summer fuel blend,” Hoffman said. “I think it’s going to level out as tensions hopefully de-escalate.”
“But I think we have a lot of assurances. We have more supply here. We have our national security interests, the Department of Defense, they’re going to be making sure that there’s no threat to our supply. So they’re on heightened alert as well. And we suspect that President Trump wants to make sure that the prices don’t go up,” she expanded.
The U.S. Department of Energy did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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The FOX Business team contributed to this report.
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