Divisions emerge in right-wing media as Iran war stirs anxiety about food production, fertilizer

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran — which has been largely but not entirely supported by major right-wing media outlets — is threatening to upend not just international oil markets but also world food production, with fertilizer costs soaring just as farmers in the global north enter the spring planting season.

Some figures in right-wing media have taken notice, alarmed that a spike in domestic food prices could be disastrous for President Donald Trump and Republicans in the fall midterms. Globally, poor countries are set to take the brunt of the disruption, which could trigger famine or political instability in especially vulnerable areas.

The right-wing comments on the potential looming food crisis largely break along two lines. The first is pro-war voices, mostly at Fox and Newsmax, who have argued that Iran's closing of the Strait of Hormuz (the primary driver of the fertilizer shortages) is proof that the United States and Israel should escalate the war to ensure that Tehran can't close the passage in the future. On the other side are figures like Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly who have been more critical of the war effort and now cite rising prices as one reason to oppose it.