The US military has secretly established a shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz to transport millions of barrels of oil through the waterway every day, two US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity told Axios.
The operation has been underway for several weeks, with 15 to 20 tankers entering the strait each night and leaving via the southern route along the coast of Oman.
The officials said around ten million barrels of oil are being transported through the strait and reaching the global energy market every day, roughly half the pre-war volume.
On some nights, as much as 15 to 20 million barrels of oil are transported through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US-led operation is helping to ease war-related disruptions to oil supplies that have driven up crude prices. Although the amount of oil transported through the strait remains below pre-war levels, it is having a significant impact on global supplies, the officials said.
According to the officials, the US military helps empty tankers travel from the Arabian Sea through the strait into the Persian Gulf, where they are loaded with oil in Gulf states, before escorting them back out through the Strait of Hormuz.
Detailed information about the operation had not previously been made public.
“We have controlled the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz for two months,” one US official familiar with the situation told Axios. The official added that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was creating obstacles but “does not control the strait. We do.”
US forces are coordinating the operation with partners in the Persian Gulf. Each day, a list is compiled of vessels leaving the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz for the Arabian Sea, as well as empty tankers travelling from the Arabian Sea through the strait to Persian Gulf ports to load oil.
At designated times, outbound vessels form a convoy and cross the strait along the southern route under US military escort. At other times, incoming vessels form similar convoys. The US military uses fighter jets to protect the ships against Iranian cruise missiles and drones.
The operation was made possible by a recent two-week military campaign by US Central Command targeting Iranian radar and maritime surveillance systems, one official said. Iran now has limited ability to monitor activity in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, although it continues to launch missiles and drones towards areas where ships are believed to be moving, with US forces attempting to intercept them.
US President Donald Trump told Axios on Wednesday that oil was being transported through the Strait of Hormuz, but stressed that the United States was not currently engaged in talks with Iran.