The US grand strategy in the Middle East is driven primarily by two elements; first, the security of energy resources and the safety of sea-lanes for steady flow of oil, and second, the security of Israel. Energy resources in the region have both, security and economic significance for the US. Therefore, the security of oil supply has been a major element of the US national interest since Franklin Roosevelt (1933-1945).

Some analysts argue that today, because America’s dependence on oil from the Persian Gulf is only around 17 percent, the oil supply in this region is not a driving force behind America’s grand strategy in the Middle East. This argument is flawed, for any instability in oil supplies from the Gulf region affects oil prices throughout the global expanse, and thus, the economy of the US as a whole.