On the sidelines of the G-20 meeting of finance ministers, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed allies to support the United States’ efforts to constrain Iran’s economy.
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U.S. plans to ‘asphyxiate’ Iran’s economy, most oil still passes through Hormuz
The U.S. plan, according to Bessent, is to ‘asphyxiate’ Iran’s economy, and the allies are on board. But Chris Wright notes that most oil still passes through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began. The gap is as wide as the strait itself: the rhetoric is suffocation, the reality is circulation. The sanctions are designed for impact, but the flow of oil is designed for business. The reconciliation is not in the embargo, but in the ledger: the oil moves, the money changes hands, and the plan is adjusted to fit the receipts. The precision here is not in the blockade, but in the toll. The plan is to choke, but the pipeline is open. The column gap turns up in the same place every time: the market, where the price is set, and the pump, where the price is paid. The plan lands on the economy, but the economy lands in the tank. Hon, if you’re counting, the gap is the distance between the plan and the pump. The ledger is balanced, but only in the receipts. The blockade is a toll booth, and the toll booth is open. That’s the reconciliation, and it’s as precise as it is absurd. The only thing suffocated is the headline.
“They say they're choking Iran's economy, but the oil keeps flowing. That's not a blockade, that's just a toll booth. The money changes hands, but the gas still hits your pump.”
“Economic pressure is a proven tool, and if oil keeps moving, that's just proof the plan is working! Wait, should the oil be stopped? No, it's complicated. The important thing is, the right people feel the squeeze, not you. Unless you do. That can't be right.”
The receipts
Roughly 17 million barrels of oil and gas products passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the most since the war in Iran began. Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed the total with reporters while traveling to Venezuela Tuesday evening, saying all 17 million barrels passed through via boat. When accounting for additional…
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.