Trump Energy Secretary Says Military Force Needed If ‘Iran Continues to Hold the World Economy Hostage’

Trump Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned that military action would soon be necessary if Iran continues to “hold the world economy hostage” by not fully opening the Strait of Hormuz – a vital energy transit hub.

CNBC’s Brian Sullivan interviewed Wright on Squawk Box on Friday and asked him about the ongoing global energy crisis created by the war in Iran, particularly the closure of the Strait.

“Just to reiterate, any real visibility on when that traffic flow might be, if not fully resumed, majority resumed?” Sullivan pressed.

“So, dialog is going on with Iran, everyone knows where this is going to end. This is going to end with the Iran nuclear program being dismantled and the free flow of traffic through the Straits of Hormuz. That could be a deal with Iran that struck in the next few days, and that could happen relatively quickly,” Wright replied, before warning:

If Iran continues to hold the world economy hostage, the United States military will force the reopening of the Strait of Hromuz, but that’s not trivial to do. We’ve done the early steps on that, but better is to get a deal and not have use military force.

Trump has downplayed the significance of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks and repeatedly claimed victory in the war with Iran. He has also said Iran wants a deal, but the U.S. and Iran have yet to publicly announce any advances in the ongoing peace talks.

Wright also told Sullivan that he believes China will start buying more U.S. oil. “I suspect we’ll see a growth in their oil imports from the United States,” Wright told CNBC.

Wright’s comments echoed Trump from the day before, telling Fox News, “They’ve agreed they want to buy oil from the United States, they’re going to go to Texas, we’re going to start sending Chinese ships to Texas and to Louisiana and to Alaska.”

Watch the clip above via CNBC.

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