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The Conversation
The Conversation
Christine Keiner, Chair of the Department of Science, Technology, and Society, Rochester Institute of Technology

Bypass the Strait of Hormuz with nuclear explosives? The US studied that in Panama and Colombia in the 1960s

A nuclear bomb explodes at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean in 1946, one of several U.S. test explosions. Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

With the world struggling to get oil supplies moving from the Middle East, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich raised eyebrows with a social media post highlighting a radical idea: Use nuclear bombs to cut a new channel along a route that would avoid Iranian threats in the Strait of Hormuz.

Gingrich’s March 15, 2026, post linked to an article that labeled itself as satire. Gingrich has not clarified whether his endorsement was serious. But he is old enough to remember when ideas like this were not only taken seriously but actually pursued by the U.S. and Soviet governments.

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