Trump's gamble with Iran is strangling the American worker
By Alma Cordero · Reporting from El Paso ·
When the national average for petrol hits $4.27 a gallon, it isn’t just a number on a sign in a parking lot; it is a theft from the kitchen table.
# When the national average for petrol hits $4.30 a gallon, it isn’t just a number on a sign; it is money missing from the grocery budget. For the housekeepers and day laborers I spent years organizing, a sharp spike in fuel costs means choosing between a full belly and a "buy-now-pay-later" loan for food. A 2026 LendingTree survey said one in three users already rely on those loans to survive. While Donald Trump calls this conflict "small potatoes," the people paying the bill find it far too high.
Strangulation is the Only Tool
The administration wants to strangle the Iranian economy. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told theguardian.com he intends to force a regime change or a policy shift, even if it means abandoning a nuclear agreement. The U.S. uses a naval blockade and targeted strikes to achieve this. On September 9, the military sank five Iranian oil tankers, including the Kivik and Derya, after the Revolutionary Guards attacked a Navy warship. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran will lose tankers for every attack on U.S. ships.
This mirrors the 2018 strategy, but with the safety off. The administration argues that blocking ports and hitting warehouses prevents a ground invasion, calling the degradation of Iran's capabilities a precise tool. But global oil spikes are never precise. The Russia-Ukraine war showed that energy shocks trigger riots and bread lines. Now, this conflict drains the bank accounts of the American working class to settle a geopolitical grudge.
Why Repeat the Gulf War?
The U.S. is following a map drawn in 1990. By blocking ports and hitting military targets, the administration mimics the blueprint of the Gulf War. Back then, the U.S. led dozens of nations to liberate Kuwait by squeezing Saddam Hussein’s economy. The difference is that the Gulf War had a clear objective and a global mandate. Today, Trump acts alone, treating the Strait of Hormuz like a private dock he can control.
This is a gamble, not a strategy. By mirroring old tactics without a coalition, the U.S. gives Iran a weapon: economic hostage-taking. Sanam Vakil told Al Jazeera that Iran does not need to win a dogfight. It only needs to survive long enough to disrupt the world economy. The Revolutionary Guards can withstand a few lost tankers, but the American voter cannot survive a permanent price hike at the pump.
The Midterm Deadline
Trump says this war will end "immediately after" the November 3 midterms. He insists Iran is acting only to "affect the election." This echoes the 2020 presidential race, where the administration framed foreign adversaries as poll-interferers. But voters are not watching the Strait of Hormuz; they are watching their bank balances. With approval ratings hovering around one in three, the administration is forgetting the lesson of the Iraq War: you cannot sustain a long conflict when the home front is hungry.
The administration believes it can force Tehran to surrender before the polls open. But you cannot choke an enemy without tightening the grip on your own throat. By November, the only thing ending will be the patience of a public tired of paying for a president's pride with their last few dollars.