US-Israeli disruption of global energy flows by bombing Iran and precipitating the closure of the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) is shaking US allies first, and exposes Washington’s long-term policy of constricting global petroleum supply.
Washington’s Ill-Conceived War and the Resulting High Fuel Prices
In addition to the SoH closure, these high fuel prices in Western countries and their allies are caused by Washington’s long-term US policy of suppressing global petroleum supplies by bombing oil-rich countries or sanctioning others. Without Washington’s decades of wars and sanctions on oil-rich countries, the petroleum supply would be many times higher, and prices would be significantly lower. Western countries and their allies have allowed the US to interfere with this supply, hoping they will be safe, but it appears that they will also face adverse effects, including inflation and protests, which can also cause political turbulence. Kenya was the first to experience a crippling boycott in its transport sector on May 18 and 19, 2026, revealing how long-term effects of ill-conceived policy will catch up with those who remain silent about Washington’s imperialism for myopic ends.
Poor Quality of Leadership and Citizens’ Low Tolerance for Pressure
The ongoing US-Israel war against Iran is exposing both the political and economic weaknesses of the West’s allies. Before the war, the West would regularly blame the many cycles of Iranians’ economic protests (which resulted from Western sanctions) on the supposed incompetence and mismanagement by Iran’s Islamic government, formed after the 1979 revolution. The detail that Iran has been sanctioned by the West for nearly half a century was conveniently left out, creating an illusion that Western-style democracies should fare better under external pressure. The West repeatedly presented the effects of its inhuman sanctions on Iran as something that a well-managed country should be able to weather, but the economic pressure resulting from the closure of the SoH is creating backlash that the West and its allies may find hard to contain only after a few months. The war on Iran has shown that some of the West’s allies are economically vulnerable and can be adversely affected by Washington’s restricting global oil supply over the past decades, in addition to the current war on Iran, factors that have caused severe fuel shortages and high pump prices in Kenya.
Kenya faces serious economic and political crises resulting from high fuel prices and severe shortages occurring barely three months after the US-Israel war on Iran began. It is unlikely that the West and its allies can withstand the level of economic pressure they have subjected Iran to over the last 47 years. The situation that evolved in Kenya on May 18 and 19, 2026, depicted total paralysis of public transport and loss of life, as Kenyans protested the administration’s handling of fuel import and distribution, which had caused the highest pump prices in history. These high prices, which are attributable to corruption and irresponsible taxation, are also ranked among the highest on the continent, surpassing those in landlocked countries. Kenya’s Nation TV reported on May 19, during the 7:00 p.m. news, that the per liter cost of imported fuel in Kenya is $0.77, but the government levies numerous taxes, causing consumers to purchase the same at $1.68. The administration has also monopolized fuel imports, only allowing government-affiliated companies to import exclusively from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
According to a report from Afro Fuel published on May 19, 2026, the per-liter pump price of fuel in Kenya ($1.68) was the second highest on the continent — only the landlocked Central African Republic had a higher one at $1.87. For comparison, landlocked Uganda, which imports fuel through Kenyan ports and incurs the additional cost of transporting it overland, had lower pump prices of $1.42, over a quarter of a dollar in difference. Tanzania, which is not landlocked, had pump prices of $1.26, significantly lower than in Kenya. There is no economically justifiable or politically acceptable reason why Kenya should have such high fuel prices compared to its neighbors. The country’s leadership appears to be out of touch with citizens’ needs, is corrupt, and always puts itself in the service of Washington and London.
Convenient to Lazy Explanation
When asked about the high fuel prices, high-ranking government officials, including the cabinet secretaries for Interior and Finance, have conveniently cited global political crises and the closure of SoH, an explanation the Western media gives readily on behalf of Kenya but does not convey the entire picture. This view shows the leaders’ escapist mindset and the total surrender of governance to US interests in that none want to mention that oil supply would be high and prices lower if it were not for Washington’s wars on Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Venezuela and sanctions on Venezuela, Iran, and Russia. The leadership is happy to report a tired line to conceal that corruption, taxes, and levies constitute nearly 50% of pump prices in Kenya. For instance, diesel prices in Kenya increased from $1.33 prior to April 13 to $1.88 per liter on May 14, 2026, which is over a 41% increase and far above the 20% the closure of the SoH should affect.
Had Kenya, among other US allies, decried Washington’s interference with global petroleum supplies over the last decades, the prevailing fuel shortages and high pump prices would have been averted. Crude oil is a rather abundant resource. Had the recoverable crude in Venezuela, Russia, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, among others, been developed and traded without the wars and sanctions from the US and its allies, oil prices would have been significantly lower. Regimes supporting US imperialism were okay when Washington was strangling the development of Venezuelan resources, stealing Iraqis’ oil, bombing Syria’s wells, and restricting Russia’s exports through sanctions. Their silence emboldened the US to attempt to invade and steal Iranian oil, which precipitated the closure of the SoH, further increasing oil prices. Therefore, regimes that pride themselves on cheering the US rather than defending international law or serving their citizens find themselves facing the consequences of Washington’s adventures. Today, blind alliance with US imperialism does not result in economic or political advantage but high prices and other adverse consequences.
Simon Chege Ndiritu is a political observer and research analyst from Africa
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