News

Political commentator Susan Kokinda argued that the Trump administration has launched a long-term strategy designed to reshape the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East by weakening Iran’s economic leverage, expanding American energy production and encouraging regional nations to pursue independent security and economic partnerships.

During a recent presentation, Kokinda said the administration’s approach extends far beyond the day-to-day headlines surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.

“Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered a message to the government of Iran and to the world.”

She then played remarks from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlining the administration’s economic pressure campaign.

“At the president’s orders, we have raised the level even again, and watch this space for more announcements coming next week, because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country.”

According to Kokinda, those comments reflect a strategy that has been under development for years.

“That is an execution of a policy that has been years in the making. And a week earlier, Bessent told you what it was.”

She then referenced another statement from Bessent regarding the future of the Strait of Hormuz.

“Strait is never going back to the way it was, because the Iranians have used or tried to use it as a choke point. What we are going to see over the next two years, the Strait’s going to become irrelevant. It is going to become just another body of water.”

Kokinda argued the objective extends beyond Iran itself.

“This isn’t just about Iran. It’s about the end of a British choke point that’s been used as a weapon in service of a policy which has kept the region in flames for decades.”

She also criticized what she described as media coverage focused on short-term developments.

“Now, if you’re living in your social media feeds, you’re probably getting whiplash. The straits are open, the straits are closed. America is winning, America is losing. That’s not the story. It’s a distraction from the real one.”

According to Kokinda, the larger geopolitical changes began decades ago.

“The real story is much bigger, and it didn’t start 6 months ago. It started 50 years ago, and last month, a Lebanese diplomat blew the lid off that story.”

Turning to energy policy, Kokinda highlighted comments from Energy Secretary Chris Wright during an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier.

Baier asked:

“So you’re saying that because of the U.S. military escorts and because some of these ships go dark going through the strait, that those numbers of these tracking agencies are not accurate.”

Wright replied:

“Exactly. Exactly. They’re they’re trying the best they can, but almost all of these ships have their AIS their transponders are off, so they’re dark. They’re under escort, and it’s so it’s a different shipping operation than we had before the conflict. But it’s 8 or 9 million barrels a day on a running average are going through the strait, plus you’ve got to add the 6 million barrels a day that are being diverted via pipelines, and all and those pipelines are being expanded as well.”

Kokinda said those figures differ from some public estimates.

“So the real gap is 5 to 6 million barrels, not the 15 million the doomsday commentators keep repeating.”

She also highlighted Wright’s broader strategic assessment.

“But their ability to cause difficulties are declining. Our ability to escort and bring products out of that region is growing. They they have they they have sort of one one card, and it’s shrinking in size.”

Kokinda summarized that point by saying:

“One shrinking card. That’s not a choke point anymore.”

She later returned to Bessent’s economic strategy.

“But the situation on the ground in Hormuz is just one flank in the overall strategy.”

Quoting Bessent again, she highlighted the administration’s financial pressure campaign.

“And we’ve been going after, as you said, their bank accounts, crypto wallets, assets around the world, cut- cutting off payments into both the leadership and the regime and the government itself.”

Kokinda argued those measures have been accompanied by expanded domestic energy production, pipeline construction and what she described as renewed support for nuclear power.

The presentation then shifted to a recent forum hosted by Chatham House, where Lebanese presidential adviser Jean Aziz discussed Lebanon’s recent history.

Aziz stated:

“Brown telephoned his secretary only for the latter to tell him, Forget about it. I found the solution. I will hand Lebanon to Hafez al-Assad, and the Israelis are in agreement. And, of course, the man was utterly mistaken. In the wake of that episode, Lebanon lived through half a century, since 1976 till now, it’s a half a century of wars, battles, and instability, which ended by entangling Syria, Israel, Europe, the States, and above all, the IRGC regime of Tehran in a bloody quagmire.”

Kokinda argued the remarks represented a significant public criticism of past regional policies.

She later quoted Aziz again describing current relations with the United States.

“…a fundamental international change embodied in Western, and particularly American, attention to Lebanon on attention at once serious and practical, and one congruent with our reading of the true nature of the crisis and the feasible solutions.”

The discussion also highlighted comments from Qatari official Majed al-Ansari regarding regional diplomacy.

“Gaza is a good example of this. How did we get to the 20-Point Plan? We got to the 20-Point Plan because eight countries from the Arab and Muslim world came together, went to President Trump with a clear plan, put their weight behind it, went to Cairo, went to Sharm El Sheikh, signed the deal, and are still continuing to work on a resolution. It was not delusional. It was not ambitious. It was very practical. And right now, while we are looking at a very severe humanitarian crisis in in Gaza, we are still pushing for a practical, possible solution to the humanitarian crisis over there. We’re looking through the the lens of countries in the region, rather than just waiting for somebody extra-regionally to come in and solve our crisis for us.”

Kokinda argued that approach reflects a broader movement toward regional cooperation rather than dependence on outside powers.

She concluded by referencing remarks President Donald Trump made during a Board of Peace meeting.

“And I said, Steve, how would you like to be Henry Kissinger Jr. that doesn’t leak? And he said, Are you a leaker, Steve? No. He didn’t even know what the word meant, and it’s true. I always say Henry Kissinger, who was one of the great leakers of all time, by the way. Richard Nixon said to him, Henry, Henry, who’s leaking all this stuff? I don’t know, Mr. President. It was Henry.”

WATCH:

According to Kokinda, the administration’s economic sanctions, energy policies and regional diplomatic initiatives together represent what she views as a broader effort to replace decades-old geopolitical arrangements with a framework centered on economic sovereignty, regional cooperation and independent development.