President Donald Trump’s top economic advisor Kevin Hassett said Thursday that getting even one oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz would provide a “huge chunk of what’s missing” amid a global supply crunch caused by the U.S.-Israel war in Iran.
Hassett, director of White House’s National Economic Council, made the claim as traffic through the key shipping route remains tightly throttled, despite the U.S. and Iran reaching a fragile ceasefire that ostensibly involves reopening the strait.
More than 100 commercial vessels, mostly oil tankers, were passing through the strait each day before the war started on Feb. 28, according to data from Kpler.
Matt Smith, Kpler’s lead oil analyst said just two tankers — one of which was Iranian — and a handful of bulk carriers have transited the waterway since the two-week ceasefire was announced Tuesday evening.
That’s within the meager range of traffic that has been seen throughout the war, providing Iran with a key source of leverage even as it’s weathered punishing military strikes from the U.S. and Israel.
