Sebastian Schäffer on Ukraine, Oil, and the Strait of Hormuz — Interview with Qnews

IDM Director Sebastian Schäffer spoke with Cairo-based Qnews‘ programme In Focus on the geopolitical dynamics surrounding Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the US „Operation Freedom“ initiative, joining the programme from Vienna shortly after returning from a visit to Ukraine. 

Schäffer cautioned against reading Ukraine’s targeting of Baltic Sea oil ports as a direct reaction to events in the Gulf. The strategy, he argued, predates the Hormuz closure and is driven by a consistent logic: disrupting the revenue flows that sustain Russia’s war effort. With oil prices rising sharply following the closure, the stakes of that strategy have only grown. And the root cause, Schäffer stressed, remains clear: had Russia not invaded Ukraine, none of this would be happening. 

On the US response, Schäffer expressed scepticism toward the humanitarian framing of „Operation Freedom,“ pointing to a broader pattern in which the Trump administration generatesinstability before positioning itself as the solution. He noted that Tehran’s wariness of the growing US military presence in the region is, in that context, geopolitically understandable. 

▶ Watch the full interview: https://youtu.be/jbQDp0zqtwU