'What are you guys thinking?' Oil execs furious over Trump's surrender
President Donald Trump's apparent surrender on free passage in the Strait of Hormuz has earned him the rage of a new group: oil industry executives.
According to Politico, Big Oil officials "are reaching out to the White House, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance to protest allowing Iran to charge tolls through the strategic Strait of Hormuz as a condition of peace talks, said one industry consultant granted anonymity to discuss relations with the administration."
Iranian tolls were proposed as part of the deal that caused Trump to back down from his threats of genocidal force. When asked about them, he has not shut down the idea, even suggesting the United States could jointly enforce the tolls alongside Iran in exchange for a cut.
This has horrified the global oil industry, which sends around 20 percent of all its output through the Strait of Hormuz and which would see limited supply and increased prices if passage were limited or came with a toll for a prolonged period of time.
"Oil industry representatives met with senior administration staff in the State Department on Wednesday morning to raise concerns, said one person who said they attended the meeting," according to the report. "Among their points: Conceding to Iran’s request would add $2.5 million to each shipment in tolls and higher insurance rates, a cost that would be passed on to consumers. Giving Iran control of Hormuz could set precedent for countries like Singapore and Turkey to charge tolls on important trade routes on the Strait of Malacca and Bosporus. And paying the toll could put companies in legal jeopardy for violating sanctions on Iranian officials."
One person close to the talks said of the potential toll of Hormuz, "We didn’t have to do that before — and I thought we won the war. Any place you have access to the administration, you ask, what are you guys thinking?"
All of this comes as Republicans in general and even some MAGA loyalists begin to raise serious alarms about the scope of concessions the White House is apparently willing to make with Iran, as the ceasefire agreement on the table lopsidedly benefits the regime over all else.