While US forces aim to suppress Iran’s leverage in the region, concerns remain regarding the safety of shipping routes, with energy companies wary of risks and high costs.
The US military has escorted 40 commercial vessels carrying about 18 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, in what US officials described as a wartime high. The operation took place on Tuesday as the US and Iran exchanged a new round of strikes, according to a report by CNN.
Before the war began more than six months ago, about 20 million barrels of oil a day passed through the strategically important waterway. US forces used air, sea and space assets to protect the vessels while continuing strikes against Iranian capabilities that could threaten commercial shipping in the strait, the officials said.
They also faced waves of drone attacks and neutralised anti-ship cruise missiles during the escort operation, one of the officials said.
The operation is part of a broader US strategy under President Donald Trump aimed at increasing economic pressure on Iran. It includes strikes on Iranian military capabilities around the strait, escorting commercial vessels and maintaining a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Despite the successful operation, US officials acknowledge that an end to the conflict is not close.
Energy companies remain concerned about the risks of sending vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, even under military escort. Oil prices also remain elevated, contributing to volatility in global bond markets.
US Focuses on Strait of Hormuz
The Trump administration has increasingly focused its military strategy on the Strait of Hormuz, with US Central Command directed to prioritise operations there and prevent oil exports from entering or leaving Iranian ports, according to the first US official.
Other priorities, including operations aimed at eliminating parts of Iran’s nuclear programme, have effectively been “backburnered” for now, the official said.
President Trump has recently suggested that he is willing to leave Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium buried and monitor it using satellite imagery. The material was not completely destroyed during previous US strikes on three key Iranian nuclear facilities.
On Tuesday, US forces struck nearly 60 military targets around the strait, including air defence sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities, while escorting the commercial vessels, the officials said.
The US military expects to continue carrying out strikes near the waterway because Iran has shown it can rebuild its capabilities, the second official said.
The official described the strategy as “mowing the grass” or a game of “whack-a-mole”, aimed at repeatedly degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping.
US Says Iran’s Leverage is Weakening
The strikes and escort operations form part of a wider effort to reduce Iran’s ability to use the Strait of Hormuz as leverage, US officials said.
The US blockade has prevented Iran from exporting any oil since July, the second official said.
President Trump said on Wednesday that the latest US strikes had targeted more than Iranian radar systems, with the aim of limiting Tehran’s ability to track ships passing through the strait. “They were trying to see the ships,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “They can’t see it because they have no radar, because we blew it up, and we blew up much more than their radar last night.”
He did not specify what other targets had been hit.
Trump again said the US controlled the Strait of Hormuz and had demonstrated that it could strike Iranian positions along the coast while protecting commercial vessels from attacks.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week that more than 17 million barrels of oil had passed through the strait on Monday, which he described as a wartime record. “That is not Iranian control of the strait,” Bessent told CNBC.
US officials told CNN they believe the strait is becoming a less effective source of leverage for Iran, pointing to increased shipping volumes as evidence.
Iran, however, is still likely to regard its ability to threaten commercial shipping and disrupt traffic as an important bargaining tool. Shipping companies remain sceptical about whether the US can maintain a sustainable system of escorted transit.
Shippers Remain Wary
Trump administration officials have repeatedly said that more oil is passing through the strait than publicly reported because vessels are increasingly switching off their transponders to avoid detection.
Most, if not all, of the 40 vessels escorted on Tuesday turned off their transponders during the journey, according to the first official.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright also claimed in August that Middle Eastern oil exports had temporarily returned to pre-war levels.
However, shipping companies and industry analysts remain sceptical of claims that the US has achieved “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz. “Safe to say the administration has not covered itself with credibility,” one person familiar with the industry told CNN.
The person added that even if the reported daily increases in shipping were accurate, “I don’t know anyone who thinks the average is that much.”
Commercial shippers are largely deciding whether to use the strait on a case-by-case basis, according to two people familiar with the industry.
The cost of chartering an oil tanker through the waterway has also surged, with some estimates putting it at more than $500,000 a day. That has provided an additional financial incentive for companies prepared to take the risk.
Insurance costs for vessels remain high after rising sharply at the beginning of the war. Reports of Iranian attacks on ships transiting the strait have also continued to deter operators.
