Scott Bessent’s Sweeping Hormuz Prediction Ages Like Spoiled Milk

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted earlier in September that the Strait of Hormuz would be irrelevant to the oil trade in two years because overland pipelines will bypass the Persian Gulf chokepoint. In light of the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, Bessent’s prediction is already aging like spoiled milk.

Bessent first made the prediction in August and then doubled down at the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina. (RELATED: Trump’s Middle Eastern Mediation Really Just An Illusion)

“In two years, the Strait of Hormuz will be … a worthless piece of water,” he told Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow on Sept. 1, adding oil “will be going on pipelines across land” and therefore diminishing Iran’s leverage.

But the Houthis’ recent drone strikes on the Saudi pipeline show that a world in which the Strait of Hormuz is completely “worthless” might be much harder to realize.

The Houthis executed a 36-hour offensive, capturing around 2,000 square kilometers of territory, including key coastal areas along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital maritime corridor for trade and oil. (RELATED: Saudi Arabia’s Oil Lifeline Just Went Down. The World May Be Running Out Of Time)

They also appeared to have attacked the Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company, a massive refinery on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, Tuesday. Oil loadings also appear to have ground to a halt at Saudis’ Red Sea export terminal in Yanbu, according to a Reuters report.

The East-West pipeline is a crucial asset for the state-owned Saudi Aramco. It is the primary land-based alternative to the restricted Strait of Hormuz, carrying crude oil across the Arabian Peninsula from ports in the Gulf Sea to the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.

Kathleen Tyson, a global markets expert and former Federal Reserve banker, mocked Bessent’s prediction Tuesday.

“Just another great call from US Treasury Secretary Bessent. He said in 2 years Gulf pipelines would make Strait of Hormuz ‘irrelevant,’” she wrote on X. “[The Houthis] hit Yanbu oil loading port infrastructure and 6 more pumping stations on Saudi’s East-West Pipeline. Hormuz will never be ‘irrelevant.’”

The Houthi strikes and drone attacks immediately led to an increase in global oil prices Monday, with Brent crude jumping over 3 percent to top $107-$108 per barrel after the supply chain disruption. Throughout September, the price of oil has surged 20 percent, according to CNBC.