CENTCOM: More Than 1 Billion Barrels of Gulf Oil Cleared Hormuz in Two Months

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said Saturday that American forces have supported the movement of more than 1 billion barrels of crude oil out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz over the past two months. In a video posted to CENTCOM’s X account, Cooper said the command also assisted more than 2,000 commercial ship transits with coordinated protection, that primary lanes are clear of mines, and that Iran has exported “zero barrels” under what he called an “ironclad blockade.” The volume of crude, cargo, and liquefied natural gas over the past two weeks, he said, is higher than at any point in the last six months.

“CENTCOM forces have supported more than one billion barrels of crude oil leaving the Gulf,” Cooper said. “That’s one billion barrels of crude oil out through the Strait of Hormuz in the last couple of months.” He added: “We’ve reached this significant milestone while assisting over 2,000 commercial ship transits through the Strait by providing coordinated protection. Clearly, momentum is building. Primary transit lanes in the Strait are clear of mines.” “Over one billion barrels of crude have been shipped from Gulf partners through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has exported zero barrels thanks to our ironclad blockade.” He said CENTCOM is working with Gulf Cooperation Council states, insurers, and shipping companies to raise traffic further, and that the command is helping partners improve air defense and form a new coalition attack-drone unit. A senior White House official told AFP the same day that oil was moving through the corridor at 10 million to 11 million barrels per day and that Iranian leverage over the waterway was declining week by week. CENTCOM said Friday it had diverted 105 commercial ships since the United States resumed its naval blockade of Iran on July 14. President Trump has described the strait as “open and operating.” Hormuz normally carries about 20 percent of the world’s oil. The waterway has been disrupted since the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran began Feb. 28.

Ship-tracking firm Kpler reported vessel traffic through the strait at 12 on Tuesday, below a 10-day average of about 17. Iranian armed-forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi called Cooper’s tanker-escort and billion-barrel figures “fabricated” and said initiative in the strait “remains firmly in the hands of Iran’s powerful armed forces.” Tehran has maintained that the waterway remains under Iranian control. Cooper’s statement did not publish a day-by-day tanker count or an independent audit of the 1 billion-barrel total.