Harold Hamm, the fracking billionaire and Continental Resources founder, has leveraged his influence as Donald Trump's self-described 'original oil guy' to boost US-Israel ties and downplay the risks of war with Iran, according to a joint investigation by the Guardian and Fieldnotes.
Hamm's Role in Shaping Trump's Iran Policy
Hamm, 80, has been warning for years that Iran poses a threat to Israel and the US. In a 2018 essay co-written for the National Review, he argued that 'Iran perpetuates the virulent rhetoric that has fueled' antisemitism and 'must pay for its constant attempts to destabilize the Middle East.' He also predicted the US would be 'capable of providing enough oil to help stabilize the global market, no matter what happens in countries such as Iran.'
Central to Hamm's foreign policy push is the Council for a Secure America (CSA), a Reagan-era non-profit he relaunched in 2012 and co-chairs. The New York City-based group declared Iran a 'looming existential threat' in its founding mission statement and argues that 'America can be energy dominant' to strengthen national security.
CSA's Extensive Briefings and Meetings
CSA's annual reports show that in the 30 months between Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the council held at least 300 briefings with lawmakers of both parties and their staff. It also held dozens of 'high-level' discussions with US and Israeli security experts and 'off-the-record' meetings with dignitaries.
Among the attendees were Chris Wright, the former fracking CEO who became energy secretary, and Doug Burgum, then North Dakota's governor and now Trump's interior secretary. Council members met with Wright or Burgum on at least four occasions in the past three years, including a private dinner in May 2024 hosted by Burgum where Hamm, Burgum, Wright, and Wright's wife made up half of those at the head table.
Hamm's Influence on Energy Policy
Hamm has donated more than $2m to Trump's three presidential campaigns and helped organize a 2024 Mar-a-Lago fundraiser where Trump reportedly asked oil executives for $1bn. He also played a key role in lifting the 40-year-old US crude oil export ban in 2015.
Tyson Slocum, energy director at Public Citizen, told the Guardian: 'Harold Hamm very publicly emerged as the oil whisperer in Trump's ear on all things energy policy. Hamm speaks a language Trump understands and shares his general worldview.'
Downplaying the War's Impact on Oil Prices
Both Burgum and Wright echoed Hamm's prediction that the war would not affect US energy prices. Speaking at a DC think tank in fall 2025, Burgum recounted how Trump asked before launching strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities what impact they would have on US energy. 'You know what the advisers had an opportunity to say? Nothing. Nothing at all. It's not going to change the price of the pump, because guess what? The US, we don't get any oil any more out of the Strait of Hormuz.'
Trump struck the same note after starting the war in February, declaring, 'We don't use the strait – the United States, we don't need it.'
Economic Impact and Criticism
However, the war has had a significant economic impact. Americans have paid an additional $67bn and counting for fuel because of it, Brown University researchers estimate. US oil companies have reported windfall profits this year. Oil prices briefly returned to pre-war levels after a temporary truce but rose again as military strikes continued.
Michael Klare, a Five Colleges professor emeritus, told the Guardian: 'You cannot extricate the US from the global petroleum economy. If there's a severing of oil to the rest of the world, even if the US still has plenty, it has consequences that blow back on to the US with higher prices.'
Aaron Weiss, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, said: 'Energy dominance never actually meant cheaper prices for American consumers – it meant giving Harold Hamm more oil to export to foreign countries. And the Iran war has finally laid that lie bare.'
Hamm has expressed indifference toward Americans paying more at the pump. 'I really don't feel bad,' he said in May. 'These folks are driving down the road with the $80,000 F-150 and we're at about $4 gas.' Hamm, whose net worth is estimated at $20bn, added: 'It's all relative.'
