Geopolitics & Middle East (Iran, Strait of Hormuz, sanctions)
John Winkler
Senior Geopolitics Correspondent
John Winkler covers where oil and statecraft meet. He has filed from Tehran, Gulf naval briefings, and OPEC ministerials for more than 20 years, and for the last 14 his focus has been Middle East crude: sanctions, tanker seizures, and the recurring standoffs over the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil moves. His work explains what a threat to Hormuz actually does to supply, insurance, and price, rather than just quoting the threat.
Contact: john.winkler@theoilslick.com
Career
- Senior Geopolitics Correspondent, The Oil Slick (2019-present)Runs Middle East and sanctions coverage from the Dubai bureau.
- Middle East Energy Correspondent, Reuters (2011-2019)Covered Iranian sanctions, Gulf tanker security, and OPEC diplomacy from Dubai and Tehran.
- Political Risk Correspondent, Argus Media (2005-2011)Wrote on sanctions-hit crude flows and Gulf supply security out of London.
- Foreign Desk Reporter, The Baltimore Sun (2000-2005)International affairs and general assignment, including Gulf coverage.
Notable coverage
- Reported the 2019 Strait of Hormuz tanker attacks and seizures as they happened, tracing the re-routing, insurance, and price fallout.
- Documented how maximum-pressure sanctions pushed Iranian crude into ship-to-ship transfers and relabeled cargoes.
- Filed from OPEC ministerial week for over a decade, showing how Gulf rivalries drove production decisions.
Education
M.A., Middle Eastern Studies, SOAS University of London. B.A., International Relations, University of Michigan.
Awards & recognition
Finalist, Overseas Press Club of America, international energy reporting (2017)Society of Petroleum Journalists Award for Middle East Coverage (2014)
Recent articles
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