‘Worthless Piece Of Water’: Trump Aide Says Strait Of Hormuz Will Be Bypassed In 2 Years - News18

**Washington, D.C. –** In an interview that quickly went viral, U.S. Treasury chief economist **Scott Bessent** declared the Strait of Hormuz “a worthless piece of water” and asserted that the United States will have an alternative route for Middle‑East oil within two years. Bessent, speaking to Indian outlet News18, said the upcoming network of pipelines and over‑land transport corridors being financed by Washington and its allies will render the narrow Persian Gulf chokepoint obsolete. He added that a new round of sanctions on Iranian financial institutions could be announced “as early as this week,” signalling a further tightening of economic pressure on Tehran.

The Strait of Hormuz, a 21‑nautical‑mile waterway between Oman and Iran, currently carries roughly **20 percent of the world’s crude oil** and a similar share of petroleum products. Since the Trump administration took office in 2017, U.S. officials have pushed for “energy diversification” to diminish the strategic leverage Iran enjoys from the waterway. Projects under discussion include a Saudi‑backed over‑land pipeline linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, an expanded use of the **Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC)** route for oil, and increased capacity on the **Turkey–Iraq–Syria (TIS)** corridor for refined fuels. The Treasury’s push for sanctions is intended to force Iran’s banks out of the global payment system, thereby reducing the country’s ability to fund its oil export operations.

Energy analysts and regional experts cautioned that the two‑year timeline is overly optimistic. **Wood Mackenzie** and **Rystad Energy** note that constructing new pipelines across politically volatile terrain, securing financing, and achieving the requisite regulatory approvals typically take longer than a single planning cycle. Iran’s Foreign Ministry dismissed Bessent’s remarks as “flagrant propaganda,” warning that any attempt to sideline the strait would be met with “appropriate counter‑measures.” Meanwhile, commodity markets have already reacted, with Brent crude futures edging lower on fears of a sudden shift in supply dynamics, though most traders agree that the Hormuz will remain a critical conduit for the foreseeable future.