Middle East: US launches new round of attacks on Iran

US President Donald Trump said the US military has been involved in a “secret mission” to get oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

“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 on his Truth Social platform with his characteristic capitalization errors.

“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,” Trump said.

Trump said that over 200 commercial vessels had “safely traveled through the Strait.”

Earlier, as Trump fielded questions from the media in the Oval Office, he said that millions of barrels had already been taken out of the region, according to the US president, without Iran’s knowledge.

“Do you know we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil, nobody knows it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran, until right now,” Trump said.

Less than a week’s oil at pre-war levels

Before the war, approximately 15 million to 20 million barrels of crude oil and an average of 125 to 140 ships passed through the strait daily.

The 100 million barrels Trump said US forces assisted through the waterway since Iran closed the strait on April 18 after airstrikes by the United States and Israel represent the equivalent of less than a week of crude oil at pre-war levels.