President Donald Trump announced on June 10 that the US military quietly escorted more than 200 commercial ships carrying over 100 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz during a secret operation conducted in May. The claim, if verified, would represent one of the most significant American military logistics operations in recent memory, aimed squarely at breaking Iran’s stranglehold on the world’s most important oil chokepoint.
Roughly 20% of the world’s oil production flows through that narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.
What we know, and what we don’t
Iran has maintained control over the Strait of Hormuz since asserting dominance following US and Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026. The blockade drastically curtailed commercial traffic. By April, vessel transits through the strait had fallen to approximately 191 ships for the entire month, a fraction of normal flow.
Trump had previously announced a naval escort initiative called “Project Freedom” in May, which was later suspended. The newly disclosed operation appears to be a separate, covert effort that ran concurrently or subsequently.
