US military secretly helped 100 mn barrels of oil through Hormuz: Trump

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the US military secretly helped 100 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran largely closed in response to US and Israeli attacks.

“Last month, I directed our Great US Military to execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, claiming the US “controls” the waterway.

“Today, I am pleased to announce that this effort has resulted in more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil making its way through the Strait, and into the Open Market,” he said, adding that more than 200 commercial ships had gone through.

Also read: Trump says Iran will ‘have to pay the price’ after tit-for-tat strikes

The United States began a military operation – dubbed Project Freedom – to escort ships through the strait in early May, but scrapped it after just a day in what Trump described as a bid to end the Middle East war, which Washington and Israel launched on February 28.

US media reported later in May that the effort had resumed, but US Central Command, which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East, said at the time that reports the Navy had resumed “escorting or assisting commercial vessels” were false.