The U.S. Navy is escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz despite the threat from Iran, guiding more than 20 crude oil carriers on some nights, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said.Some are ultra-large tankers that hold 2 million barrels of crude, Burgum said Friday on CNBC. The comments add detail to the claims made by President Donald Trump in recent days that the United States has made progress in facilitating the trade of oil through the strait, a development that would give the U.S. significant leverage over the Iranian regime in peace negotiations. The effective closure of the shipping in recent months by Iran has crimped the global supply of oil, driving up prices for fuels and undermining public support for Trump.
“If you’re talking 20 ships out a night, you’re talking substantial amounts of oil that have come out of the strait,” Burgum said.
Trump this week claimed that the U.S. has taken 100 million barrels of oil out of Iran, an offhand comment made in the Oval Office that generated some confusion among oil market observers. The president said he directed a secret military mission last month to support oil tankers and commercial ships in the strait, which resulted in more than 100 million barrels of oil to flow out of the strait and into the open market.
