Iran bet $100 oil would break American voters. Trump is proving them right

President Donald Trump does not need another demonstration that the United States can destroy Iranian assets. He needs a strategy that restores reliable passage through the Strait of Hormuz without making Americans pay for every new round of escalation.

After Iran targeted a U.S. warship and an American base in Jordan, U.S. Central Command said American forces disabled five Iranian crude carriers on Sept. 8. Iran retaliated against shipping and threatened tankers near Gulf terminals. Brent crude then closed above $100 a barrel. America is winning tactical encounters, but commercial traffic remains insecure, and the economic cost keeps rising.