If the US nukes Iran’s oil fields in retaliation, there will be no cheap oil on earth, and energy supply will be centralized around China’s supply of renewables infrastructure, and/or Russian oil.

Either way, it will be the end of capitalism centred around western hegemony as we know it.

What’s unique about oil fields in the gulf and Iran is that these reserves are what’s considered light crude. It needs minimal refinement and purification to become the final product. They can still supply crude oil profitably even when the oil price falls to around $20/barrel, as we’ve seen in Covid.

Reserves in Venezuela and Canada are what’s known as heavy sour crude. It needs dilution, purification and cracking to reach the final product. The US reserves in the Gulf of Mexico are extremely hard to get to, and thus, expensive.

So, no. They can’t nuke Iran if Iran nukes Saudi. Not if they want some semblance of western hegemony in the future.