2026-03-11 19:55
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2026-03-11 19:55
The US military has rejected a number of requests from Middle Eastern countries to escort tankers and other civilian ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Several oil-producing countries in the Persian Gulf have asked the US military for support in transporting cargo through the strait, oil industry sources in these countries said.
However, escorting the ships is currently not possible due to the fact that Iran may still attack vessels passing through Hormuz, Pentagon representatives emphasized. The military will not escort the ships until the threat from Iran subsides, they added.
Trump encourages use of the Strait of Hormuz. “We destroyed almost all the minelayers”
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that oil companies should resume oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. He noted that US forces destroyed almost all Iranian minelayers and the Iranian navy.
The daily reported that the US administration had not yet assigned the military the task of escorting the units. The Navy will wait anyway until security conditions allow the operation to be carried out, the sources said.
President Donald Trump announced that the US Navy would escort tankers through the strait if necessary. Energy Minister Chris Wright assured that the military would begin escorting the ships when possible.
Since the beginning of the US and Israel's war with Iran, i.e. since February 28, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has practically stopped. Under normal conditions, this route is crossed by, among others: about 20 percent crude oil consumed in the world. The practical blockade of this route contributed to a sharp increase in oil prices on world markets.
From Washington Natalia Dziurdzińska (PAP)
Sun/Sun/
