Iran really thinks they can shut down the global oil markets. They are betting hard on oil prices climbing thus seeing pain at the pump.

After 10 days of war, the Islamic Republic of Iran is betting on a strategy to outlast the United States and inflict maximum pain by disrupting global oil markets.

By indiscriminately attacking its Gulf Arab neighbors, who had professed neutrality in any conflict between the United States and Iran, the Islamic regime has provoked a broader coalition against it. However, it believes that by causing shortfalls in global oil supply, it can pressure the U.S. and its partners economically to sue for peace.

The strategy has been successful in producing volatility in oil prices that have impacted the U.S. market, but it remains to be seen if those price changes will ultimately prompt the American president to reconsider his military operation to defang and permanently denuclearize Tehran.

I’m sure they were thrilled with seeing oil prices go up over $100 a barrel a couple of days ago and watching all the tantrums thrown by the “experts” and the media. And then prices dropped back down by about $30. Also, quite a number of their naval ships involved in possibly attempting blockades and mining of the Strait of Hormuz were turned into kindling over the last couple of days. 

Furthermore, I’d say they thought the U.S. and Israel along with all the rest of the Middle East countries would back down once they ‘elected’ Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader. Given how they handled his inauguration, does the dude even KNOW he’s Iran’s new leader?

We have broken the Iranian regime so badly they've resorted to…whatever this is. https://t.co/63uG2AU4wO

— Amy Curtis (@RantyAmyCurtis) March 10, 2026

I doubt it and having the Iranian Guard in charge of the election tells the world the clerics aren’t in power anymore. So Iran’s stance on global oil is not having the effect they were hoping for. 

Yes, the pain at the pump is going to be felt for a short period of time.

Chuck Schumer, who led the Democrat coalition saying NO to President Trump refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserves at a price of less than $50 a barrel, is now insisting he refill the SPR at $80-$100 per barrel ASAP.

Incredible.

Back in 2020, Chuck Schumer bragged about blocking the effort to refill the strategic petroleum reserve. Now he's complaining we haven't yet released oil from it.

(h/t @MattWhitlock) https://t.co/csmyFLva1k pic.twitter.com/YyVYikRQrr

— AG (@AGHamilton29) March 9, 2026

That’s a little difficult given what Biden did and how long it actually takes to refill the SPR.

Senator Tom Cotton is asking that Secretary of Energy Chris Wright provide information as to the Biden Administration’s actual motives for draining the SPR. 

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., charged that decisions under President Joe Biden to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) could have a ripple effect as the U.S. continues its war with Iran and as the Iranian government continues its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

Cotton, in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital to Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, charged that the Biden administration released 180 million barrels from the nation’s reserves in 2022 “to suppress gas prices ahead of the midterm elections.”

“That decision drained the reserve to a 40-year low,” Cotton wrote. “The decision to drain the SPR was not a response to a supply emergency; it was a deliberate political act designed to protect Democrats from the consequences of their own failed energy policies.”

As we pointed out multiple times, Biden’s draining of the SPR to a 40-year low for no reason other than politics, put the U.S. in a very vulnerable position.

You forgot to mention that President Biden inherited 638 million barrels of crude oil in the SPR, then drained the reserves by 40% between 2021 and 2022 to combat rising gas prices.

His SPR drawdown caused more than $100 million in structural damages to the storage facilities,… https://t.co/7WqSEEi0my pic.twitter.com/B4VpuAmVcT

— Chris Martz (@ChrisMartzWX) March 7, 2026

That said, the IEA (International Energy Agency) isn’t playing Iran’s games. At. All. 

The International Energy Agency said its member countries would release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency stocks, the largest reserves distribution in history, in a bid to bring down crude prices that have soared during the war with Iran.

The release of oil would more than double the agency’s biggest prior release, when IEA member countries in 2022 put 182 million barrels on the market after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, officials said.

The IEA proposal is intended to counter the massive disruption caused by the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to global markets. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply moves through the strait, and the threat of attacks—and actual attacks—on tankers by Iran has brought shipments to a near standstill.

That’s a huge strategic move. One that throws a massive wrench in Iran’s works. Particularly in light of the fact that this release would give a four month cushion to the world’s oil supply. 

The IEA was quite blunt. 

“IEA countries have unanimously decided to launch the largest ever release of emergency oil stocks in our agency’s history,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “This is a major action aiming to alleviate the immediate impacts of the disruption in markets.”

~Snip

“We must send a very clear message,” said French Finance Minister Roland Lescure. “If we can’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz right away, we will replace it with other oil.”

Which is available through two other pipelines. If Biden hadn’t shut down drilling and oil production, another avenue more readily available was/is oil from the U.S. But since he drained the SPR, it’s made things a bit more difficult. 

It will be interesting to see how things shake out over the next few days with this move by the IEA. 

One thing is clear, this unanimous move by the IEA sends a huge signal to Iran. Will Iran listen? Only time will tell. 

Feature Photo Credit: barrels of oil on Strait of Hormuz map via iStock, cropped and modified