President Trump is using his Iran blockade to promote the use of oil from other countries, particularly China, who are squeezed by the Strait of Hormuz, as a means of providing geopolitical leverage. The rise of the U.S. as the world's largest oil and gas producer and largest exporter of liquefied natural gas provides this leverage. However, the country's crude oil export volumes are generally fluctuating, with exports of petroleum products like gasoline, jet fuel and diesel rising for years. The Iran war has halted 20 million barrels per day of crude and petroleum products that typically travel through the Strait, which handles about a fifth of the global oil trade. Despite these efforts, the reality check is that the US does not have the capacity to replace the massive flows normally moving through the strait.