Oil Probably Won't Cause a War with Iran, but It Certainly Adds Fuel to the Blaze

Jul 20, 2019 | Jeff Colgan
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Iran, Britain and the United States are engaged in a struggle for control over the flow of oil through the Persian Gulf. A fifth of the world’s daily oil supply moves through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, offshore of Iran. Given the history of oil and war in hot spots from Iraq to Libya to Sudan, many wonder whether the situation can be defused. Yet the relationship between oil and war is actually quite complicated — and much of the time, oil disputes are resolved peacefully. The more dangerous disputes are those where tensions over oil exacerbate other factors on the road to war.