Confirmed, removed, and then clarified. After a Donald Trump aide boasted that the US Navy had “successfully rescued” an oil tanker sailing through the troubled Strait of Hormuz, the post was quickly removed. The White House later clarified that the United States had not sent any oil tankers through the key waterway, which remains the epicenter of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.“The U.S. Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil continues to flow to global markets,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright wrote in a now-deleted post on Twitter.The change in narrative caused volatility in global markets, with oil prices falling sharply after Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s initial post. Prices later suffered some losses after Wright removed the post on X just minutes after publishing it.Meanwhile, the White House moved to correct the claim. “I can confirm that the U.S. Navy has not escorted any tankers or ships at this time, although that is an option,” White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said at a briefing.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also rejected the claim, saying that no US Navy ships had “dare” to approach the Strait of Hormuz and calling Wright’s statement “completely false”.An Energy Department spokesperson told AFP that “a video clip was removed from Secretary Wright’s official X account after it was incorrectly captioned by Energy Department staff.”At least 10 oil tankers were attacked, targeted or reported attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz between March 1 and March 10, according to data compiled by the UK Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Iranian authorities.
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About one-fifth of global oil production passes through the strait. Tehran has warned that there will be no exports from the Gulf as long as the war continues.More than 20 commercial vessels have transited the strait since March 2, according to an AFP analysis of shipping tracker maritime traffic data.Other ships have passed through the area with their transponders turned off to conceal their location, sometimes reappearing on marine trackers only after safely leaving the area.Before the war, an average of 138 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz every day.The administration of US President Donald Trump has tried to reassure global markets since the war began, offering reinsurance to shipping companies and the services of the US Navy to escort tankers.Crude oil prices have risen sharply amid fears of supply disruption. On Monday, they jumped nearly 30 percent to around $120 a barrel before retreating.Prices continued to fall after Trump’s comments on Monday that the war could end soon, even as his defense secretary vowed the next day to carry out “the most intense day of attacks inside Iran.”The conflict has already seen attacks on oil depots in Iran and energy infrastructure in wealthy Gulf states, long considered safe havens in the volatile Middle East.