US builds permanent infrastructure to bypass Hormuz as war persists

September 18, 2026 at 05:30 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

The US House voted 220-204 to curb Trump's war powers, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the G20 that the Strait of Hormuz will be 'a worthless piece of water' in two years. The Iran-GCC-Iraq meeting on reopening the strait, scheduled for September 11 in Oman, was postponed with no new date set.

Key Facts

The US House voted 220-204 on Tuesday to curb Trump's war powers, the third such resolution.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the G20 on September 1 that the Strait of Hormuz will be 'a worthless piece of water' in two years.
The Iran-GCC-Iraq meeting on reopening the strait, scheduled for September 11 in Oman, was postponed with no new date set.
US crude imports from Persian Gulf countries were about half a million barrels a day, 7% of US crude imports, before February 28.

War Powers Vote

The House voted for a third time Tuesday to curb Trump's war powers, passing the latest resolution 220-204. There is little confidence it will make it through the Senate, and if it does, Trump would likely veto it.

Bessent's Hormuz Forecast

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a G20 audience this month that the strait will be 'a worthless piece of water' in two years. Bessent made the claim September 1 in a sidebar with Larry Kudlow at the G20 finance ministers' meeting in Asheville. The forecast rests on two facts that predate the war, not on anything Iran does. US crude imports from Persian Gulf countries were already at their lowest level in almost 40 years before February 28, about half a million barrels a day, 7% of US crude imports, per the EIA.

Diplomatic Track

The one Gulf-wide diplomatic track aimed at reopening the strait, the Iran-GCC-Iraq meeting scheduled for September 11 in Oman, was postponed, with no new date set.