Energy secretary deletes post claiming U.S. Navy escorted ships through Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on the 10th (local time) posted on social media that the U.S. Navy had successfully escorted oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz—where Iran’s blockade has driven a sharp spike in global crude prices—before deleting the post.

In the post on X, Wright wrote that President Donald Trump was “maintaining global energy stability” even amid military operations against Iran, adding that “the U.S. Navy successfully escorted oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.” Trump has said several times that the U.S. Navy could be deployed to protect merchant vessels, but no such deployment had taken place. If true, it would have signaled that U.S. forces were moving to actively break the blockade of the strait despite exposure to potential Iranian attacks, prompting an immediate market reaction and a sharp drop in oil prices.

The claim, however, turned out to be untrue. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing that she could confirm “the U.S. Navy has not escorted any oil tankers or vessels at this time.” Some U.S. media outlets, citing U.S. officials and sources, also reported that the military has not yet carried out escort operations for tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also denied the content of Wright’s post. Ali Mohammad Naeini, an IRGC spokesperson, was quoted by Russia’s Sputnik news agency as saying that “during the war, not a single U.S. vessel will dare to approach the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, or the Strait of Hormuz.”

Sputnik also reported that IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri wrote on X that claims U.S. troops escorted tankers through the Strait of Hormuz were “false,” adding that “all movements by the U.S. Navy and its allies in the Strait of Hormuz will be blocked by Iranian missiles and underwater drones.”

Washington=Correspondent Lee Sang-eun selee@hankyung.com