Petro-State Pariahs

Russia wages war against Ukraine and NATO. Iran intends to destroy the United States and Israel and conquer all of its oil-rich, Arab neighbors. Another member of this world conspiracy was Venezuela, which America took over this year. It squandered its energy wealth to tyrannize people, neighboring countries, and flood the United States with illicit drugs and illegal migrants.

All three are global scourges that must be defeated, and their power as oil giants must be removed. North America has more oil and resources in the ground than this troika of terrorists and can and should become the world’s energy superpower.

Both wars now underway, in Ukraine and the Middle East, were waged only because Russia and Iran generated billions from oil sales. They built large military forces and harnessed industries to make weapons and ammunition. They used oil to trigger major energy crises along the way and created geopolitical turmoil and economic damage. Here’s the list of their wars, financed by oil revenues.

Russia’s Oil War against Europe and NATO

In 2011, Russia quietly began its war against Europe and NATO by “invading” the continent with oil and gas pipelines to make it energy dependent.

Then in 2022, Moscow invaded Ukraine for the second time and stepped up its deadly asymmetrical attacks against NATO countries. After the 2022 incursion, Russia also cut off all natural gas to Europe to force it to abandon support for Kyiv. This precipitated an energy crisis: Prices jumped, factories closed, and governments scrambled for alternative supplies.

But the West backed Ukraine, and the United States quickly ramped up its enormous liquefied natural gas capacity to rescue Europe. By 2026, the US and 170 LNG plants were meeting 60% of Europe’s needs, and Norway and Qatar the rest. America is now the world’s largest LNG exporter, and Russia’s gas and oil sector continues to shrink due to sanctions and bombardment of petroleum facilities by Ukraine.

Iran’s Oil War against Israel and the US

Iran and its proxies have destabilized the Middle East for years, but its nuclear program was the last straw, which is why in 2025, Israel and the US attacked its military and oil industry.

In retaliation, Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz, causing a global oil price crisis, and began destroying its Arab neighbors’ extensive oil and gas operations. The US has press-ganged 22 countries to help it liberate the Strait and issued an ultimatum to Tehran that, unless it frees the waterway, all its power plants will be obliterated.

The only good news is that Iranian and Russian wars have dramatically degraded their military and energy capacity, and elevated the importance and leverage of North America.

The continent’s oil industries are fully integrated and are self-sufficient with surplus capacity. In 2025, the three “Amigos” produced close to 20 million barrels of oil per day. Add natural gas, LNG, and electricity, and the continent becomes a full-spectrum energy powerhouse. It has massive reserves to draw upon and can supply the world. And it is resilient. The current oil shock will impact consumers temporarily, but its oil industries can open the tap to help lower prices domestically, and its governments will benefit by reaping windfall taxes and royalties.

Venezuela’s Oil War against America

On Jan. 5, the US abducted its leader, took over its government, and put a hand-picked regime in its place. Nicolas Maduro had confiscated the operations of US oil companies and diverted oil from America to China. He sponsored terrorism in concert with Russia. But now the US will rehabilitate its oil industry and direct Venezuelan crude to its refineries and to allies. The potential is significant, and the US, Canada, and Venezuela will have substantially more oil than Russia and Iran.

North America’s global oil dominance

The United States and Canada will become the world’s “gasoline station.” The two represent the most secure, resource-rich energy bloc in the world. Thanks to fracking, the US has unlocked vast reserves of oil and gas, and Canada’s oil sands alone rival Saudi Arabia’s reserves. Add in Mexico’s oil plus hydroelectric power, uranium, and critical minerals – nickel, lithium, cobalt – and North America’s energy portfolio is unmatched. Add to that Venezuela’s potential.

Europe and Asia need fossil fuel alternatives to Russia and the Middle East. North America is safe, secure, democratic, and has the potential to meet these needs. And this is essential for the future. Control of the world’s oil and energy supply chain is not only about geopolitical leverage, prosperity, and economics. It is also about the future of AI and technology, which will require enormous amounts of energy and the development of gigantic power-hungry data centers.

The United States, Canada, and Mexico can and should move faster toward a unified energy market – one that coordinates production, pricing, and exports. Pipelines must be expanded. Electricity grids must be modernized. LNG export capacity must grow because natural gas emissions are dramatically lower than those of oil. The US is now the LNG superpower, and Canada must finally get its act together after ten years of dumb and debilitating anti-resource political leadership.

Also important is that whoever controls energy has leverage over China. Beijing can no longer rely on Russia and Iran to meet its energy needs, and partnerships with the West will be essential. This will also keep it in check. China has recently balked at building a massive gas pipeline from Russia, claiming costs are too high. But the real reason is that Russia, like Iran, is predatory, unreliable, and its wars are destroying its energy export industry.

The US postponed its summit in Beijing because of the Iranian conflict and is also publicly pushing China to help free up the Hormuz, along with other stranded customers in Europe. The Chinese are pragmatic, not crazy, and want to collaborate with their trading partners, not with dictators hurtling toward oblivion. Washington now has leverage over all three petro-state pariahs and their customers. Its energy and military dominance must defeat Iran, and then it must economically cripple Russia until it stops its war.

Once Tehran and Moscow are brought to heel, an era of peace as well as energy security can begin. And in that new order, North America and its Western allies will lead.

Reprinted from [email protected] – Diane Francis on America and the World.

The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.