Contemporary conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Venezuela are increasingly interpreted through the lens of energy geopolitics, wherein the control of hydrocarbon reserves, transit routes, and market dependencies serves as both an instrument and an objective of statecraft.
To read this article in the following languages, click theTranslate Websitebutton below the author’s name.
Farsi, Русский, Español, Hebrew, Portugues, عربي, 中文,Français, Deutsch, Italiano, 日本語,한국어, Türkçe, Српски. And 40 more languages.
This essay synthesises empirical evidence from 2024–2026 to argue that these ostensibly disconnected crises exhibit a coherent strategic logic: the deliberate construction of an Atlantic-Levantine Energy Axis designed to consolidate U.S.-led dominance, integrate Israeli infrastructure into European supply chains, and counter the influence of rival powers, notably China and Russia.
At the heart of this architecture lies the India Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and the Haifa-Europe pipeline network, a permanent energy bypass that circumvents the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.
The analysis draws upon trade flow data, policy documents, satellite imagery, and scholarly commentary to critically examine the proposition that the cascade of crises represents a phased grand strategy of energy control, reinforced by an assertive doctrine of hemispheric exclusion and territorial consolidation in the Levant.
The period since February 2022 has witnessed a radical restructuring of global energy markets unprecedented in its speed and scope. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, the imposition of Western sanctions, and the targeted manipulation of oil production in Venezuela and Iran have collectively redrawn the cartography of energy supply (Hameed, 2025; Monaldi, 2025).
Half a million tons of methane rise from the sabotaged Nord Stream pipeline. Photo: Swedish Coast Guard
President Donald Trump’s2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) explicitly designates “American energy dominance” as a central strategic priority, defining energy exports as a mechanism to “project power” and to structure the dependencies of both allies and adversaries (Szulecki, quoted in The Guardian, 2026; NSS, 2025). The 2026 update to the NSS introduces what officials have termed the “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine, declaring that the Western Hemisphere and its strategic partners foremost Israel must remain free of “hostile foreign ownership” and that energy infrastructure constitutes a core security interest (U.S. Department of Energy, 2026).
This framework invites interrogation of whether the cascade of crises constitutes a deliberate, phased grand strategy, now visibly crystallising around a Haifa-centred energy hub.
Source: Global Research
