Alan Dershowitz is calling for a radical shift in how Americans pay for fuel, suggesting that the United States should “delink” the price of domestic oil from a global market often dictated by foreign conflict.
In a Friday op-ed, the veteran legal scholar argued that while tensions in the Strait of Hormuz threaten international shipping, the U.S. has enough reserves to avoid a military confrontation if it can shield its own consumers from global price spikes. President Trump recently hinted at ending military action in the region, suggesting that nations directly dependent on the straits should lead the defense of those waters.
“These straits, through which passed much oil designated for European and Asian countries, do not directly impact the United States, which has enormous oil reserves that are not sent through Hormuz,” Dershowitz noted.
Currently, oil is treated as a global commodity, meaning a crisis in the Middle East raises prices for a driver in the Midwest, even if the oil in their tank was produced in Texas. Dershowitz challenged this status quo, questioning why oil isn’t subject to the same local competition as other goods.
READ: One U.S. Crew Member Rescued In Iran As Search For Second Airman Intensifies
“Even local gas stations compete with each other over the retail price of a fill-up, so why should the wholesale price of oil be fixed by global conglomerates?” he asked.
The proposed strategy would involve legislative or administrative steps to ensure American companies can’t claim “windfalls” by charging prices that reflect the high risks of foreign shipping lanes they don’t even use. Dershowitz admitted he is not an economist and that such a move might be unworkable, but insisted that “American consumers of artificially high-priced gas are entitled to a commonsense explanation.”
The op-ed also highlighted an alternative proposed by Israel: rerouting oil through overland pipelines to bypass vulnerable waterways. While that would require long-term regional cooperation, Dershowitz argued that delinking American oil prices could happen much faster.
“Iran is succeeding in turning American voters against our just military actions by causing pain at the pumps,” Dershowitz wrote. “If we can take economic and geopolitical actions that reduce the price of gas to American consumers, we should consider doing so.”
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox
