President Trump said Wednesday that a secret U.S. military mission he ordered last month has moved more than 100 million barrels of oil and over 200 commercial ships safely through the Strait of Hormuz, asserting that the United States, not Iran, now controls the vital waterway.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he directed the military to support oil tankers and other commercial vessels through the strait and into the open market. He called the effort wildly successful, said Iran’s military was defeated and its economy lost, and added, “It’s over for Iran.”

The specific figures could not be independently verified, but the claim tracks with reports of rising traffic through the chokepoint. Nearly 40 ships previously stranded in the Persian Gulf have exited through the strait over the past three weeks as vessels quietly coordinate with the U.S. Navy, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Some shipowners are submitting transit plans to the Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping group in Bahrain. A defense official told CNBC that U.S. forces are communicating and coordinating with ships seeking to transit the strait but are not escorting them.

Trump tied the flows to energy prices. He said the clandestine shipments are one reason crude is trading below $100 per barrel, after Energy Secretary Chris Wright said this week that oil exports through Hormuz are rising “very meaningfully.”

The backdrop is a war now in its fourth month. Iran effectively closed the strait after the U.S. and Israel launched their offensive on Feb. 28, shaking global markets and stranding ships and seafarers in the Persian Gulf. By early May, up to 20,000 seafarers were stuck aboard roughly 2,000 vessels, many running low on food, water and fuel.  The U.S. has maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports since April 13, aimed at cutting off the oil revenue Tehran needs to prop up its economy.

The strait normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil.

Trump’s earlier attempts to reopen the route were rocky. He abruptly shut down a short-lived ship-escort mission last month, after which only two merchant ships were initially known to have passed through the new U.S.-guarded lane while hundreds remained bottled up.The quieter coordination now underway has moved more ships, though traffic remains well below prewar levels.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)