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Newsfront


Iran War Set Stage for US Energy Dominance


Middle East is not a reliable source of energy; the more we free ourselves from it, the better.


BY DAVID A. PATTEN the united states has blown Iran off of the map,” President Donald Trump declared not long after


launching the war against Iran. Among its collateral damage: the


wounded confidence of energy mar- kets in the stability of Middle East oil supplies. “The Middle East is not a reliable


source of energy,” top economist Ste- phen Moore tells Newsmax. “The more we can free ourselves from it, the better, so we never have to live through this again.” When Iran’s mullahs chose to block


the Strait of Hormuz, it drove gas pric- es in some U.S. markets to nearly $7 a gallon. The critical question going forward: How can U.S. leaders pro- tect consumers from future spikes in energy costs that make life in America less affordable? “Qatar recently announced that it


will take years to restore production at one of its damaged energy facilities,” E.J. Antoni, chief economist for The Heritage Foundation, told Newsmax in March. “The implications for energy prices


are clear: The more [that] infrastruc- ture is destroyed, the higher prices will


8 NEWSMAX | MAY 2026


be, even when the conflict subsides, because of less supply.” The need to bolster the U.S. energy


supply chain comes amid a historic resurgence in U.S. domestic production. America now stands as the world’s


energy goliath, producing more oil annually than Saudi Arabia and Rus- sia combined. That suggests Trump’s vision of


an era of U.S. “energy dominance” is attainable, and the officials charged with implementing his “Drill, baby, drill!” approach to energy develop- ment promise they’re just getting started.


“We’re going to produce more in


the United States,” Energy Secretary Doug Burgum told Newsmax TV, even as missiles and drones were still zooming back and forth over the Gulf. “It’s going to make it affordable


for people that are working families in America.” The biggest obstacle to accomplish-


ing that goal may be a highly organized network of zero-emission evangelists. Late last year, the American Ener-


gy Institute issued a warning that “a coalition of green groups and leftist organizations is influencing U.S. ener- gy policy through its outsized influ-


Coal Mines a New Energy Source O


ld coal mines, one of the globe’s most controversial energy sources, could one day be used to generate cheap, renewable energy — hydropower. Converting abandoned coal mines into hydroelectric water storage facilities


could revive once-proud mining communities. The United States has more than 50,000 abandoned coal mines. Last year, the Trump administration earmarked $725 million to “clean up abandoned coal mines and restore opportunity in America’s historic coal communities.” One conversion, the Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project, is already underway


in Bell County, Kentucky. It’s expected to generate over 2,000 construction jobs in the economically challenged region, as well as up to 50 permanent jobs once it’s up and running in 2031. Turbines at the $1.3 billion facility are expected to generate enough electricity to power about 67,000 homes annually. — D.P.


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