A 60 Minutes segment on Sunday, March 15, lifted the lid on how Donald Trump‘s war in Iran will continue to affect Americans with rising costs. The program specifically referenced Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the only passageway that connects countries in the Persian Gulf, which hold a fifth of the world’s oil, to the rest of the world.
Bob McNally, who previously worked as an energy adviser for President George W. Bush, spoke to Cecilia Vega about how this closure will impact Americans, referring to the Strait of Hormuz as the “mother of all choke points.” As he explained it, “Imagine your heart has one artery taking that lifeblood to the rest of your body. And that is what the Strait of Hormuz is.”
While McNally said he “totally supports” Trump’s war, he said he would advise him to “manage the oil and gas market implications.” Gas prices have already risen more than 65 cents per gallon since the war began three weeks ago, and McNally warned on 60 Minutes that the prices could soar even higher if Hormuz is not opened to the flow of traffic.
“The all-time high for the most consumers have ever paid for gasoline was in the summer of 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. It was a $5 per gallon average. If we don’t open up Hormuz soon, I can see us making new records,” he admitted. McNally also warned that gas prices are just the start of the increased costs, as the issues will eventually trickle down the supply chain.
“When that mom in Des Moines goes to the store to buy food for her family, that food was grown with and transported by oil. And, as those producers and growers of food react to and absorb these price increases, they’ll be passed along to the consumer, to that mom in the store,” McNally explained.
Although the Trump administration has announced plans to get more oil into the global market, McNally warned that “there are no policy solutions to a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”
According to the 60 Minutes report, 400 ships carrying oil tanks are currently stranded in the Persian Gulf following Iran’s attacks on vessels in the area. Plus, McNally pointed out that even if Trump ended the war today, there’s no guarantee that Iran would open Hormuz back up to passing ships.
“It’s not like there’s a big gate that swings open in front of the Hormuz and Iran locks the gate,” he said. “All Iran has to do is demonstrate every day, every other day, that it has the means and the ability to attack ships in the strait, and that will be enough.”
60 Minutes, Sundays, 7/6c, CBS
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