Who is Responsible for Skyrocketing Oil Prices

President Trump stated that his primary goal is to defend the American people from Iran by destroying their missiles, eliminating their navy, and ensuring the country never acquires a nuclear weapon. Donald Trump has initiated airstrikes on Iranian soil. In response, Iran launched retaliatory missiles and drone strikes against American military positions across the Middle East, vowing "severe punishment" for the aggression. Tehran has also announced a complete refusal to engage in peace talks or diplomacy until their conditions are met.

China is currently positioning itself as a neutral mediator between Iran and the US,but keep in mind China is Iran's largest oil consumer, a bias that hasn't gone unnoticed.

On September 16, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Beijing to meet with Chinese leaders — just days before a planned Trump-Xi meeting — to discuss a concrete path to stability in the Middle East during the ongoing shipping crisis.

China receives 70% of their oil from other countries. To protect their energy supply, China is quietly asking Iran to control Houthi rebel attacks while pushing both sides to follow a previously agreed-upon peace plan, the China-Pakistan Ceasefire Agreement. This peace effort is based on a joint agreement between China and Pakistan that calls for an immediate ceasefire, safe shipping routes, and an end to outside military interference.

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital waterway handling 20% of global oil. Ongoing Middle East conflicts heavily disrupt tanker shipping through this. Because oil trades on a single global market, these disruptions instantly spike worldwide crude/oil prices. Canadian refineries must pay these higher international benchmark rates. Consequently, local stations pass the costs directly to Canadian consumers.

News reaches us as some sort of distant warning of a harrowing yet somehow intangible future. A future everyone seems to have excepted, yet failed to grasp. We are in the midst of an economic collapse.