1.5 Billion Successes in the War With Iran

What do you imagine might happen if we heeded the advise of the Democratic Party and simply pulled and came home?

1.5 Billion Successes in the War With Iran

That’s how many barrels of oil have made it out of the Hormuz Strait with U.S. military guidance.

By The Editorial Board, WSJ

Oct. 30, 2026

Voters aren’t happy about gasoline prices as they head to the polls, and it’s now axiomatic in the press that the Iran war is a loser for the U.S. with no good choices except capitulation. So it’s worth noting U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper’s update this week that the U.S. has helped its allies in the Gulf export 1.5 billion barrels of oil since this summer.

“When I flew over the Strait” recently, Adm. Cooper said in a video on Friday, “I saw dozens of commercial vessels transiting—all types, cargo, crude oil, liquid natural gas or LNG.” What he didn’t see: The IRGC. “At all.” He’s referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Meanwhile, Iran’s Navy “is all at the bottom of the sea.” The score-board for Iranian exports? Bupkis.

In other words, the U.S. military’s mix of escort and blockade is prevailing in the Strait. President Trump will have to sustain the naval pressure on the Iranian regime for longer than he may prefer. But a bigger risk than Mr. Trump’s volatility is that Democrats will defund the project if they retake Congress.

The blockade is taxing the U.S. Navy, and top officers are warning of worn out destroyers and compounding maintenance bills from months of heavy operations. Yet Democrats won’t even replenish spent munitions stocks lest some new weapons may be used against Iran. The party has run a blockade in Congress for months on the Trump Administration’s request even to buy fuel and pay for operations.

The Navy’s work is also a reminder that conventional military power is hardly obsolete even in today’s era of rapid technological change. A show of staying power in the Strait will echo beyond the Middle East. The U.S. Navy’s core blockade competency is something the Chinese Communist Party has to price into its actions, given Beijing’s reliance on imports.

The public is frustrated with Mr. Trump’s handling of the war, and his shifting commentary on his war aims and intentions are a major reason. But do voters want to cut off funding for a U.S. Navy that is largely succeeding in defending American interests in the Strait of Hormuz? That’s what a Democratic Congress seems intent on doing, and the mystery is why so few Republicans are willing to say so.