President Donald Trump detailed over the weekend that a covert U.S. operation has moved more than 100 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz since last month, at a rate of roughly 2.5 million barrels per day. Speaking at a press conference, Trump stated he could no longer keep the operation secret, asserting that the Iranian attempt to close the strait has effectively failed.
President Donald Trump specified during a press conference that the covert U.S. operation has moved more than 100 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz since last month — roughly 2.5 million barrels per day. Trump said he could "no longer hold it in" and described the operation as a silent defeat of Iran's stated goal of closing the strategic waterway to global oil traffic. The disclosure comes at 22:50 Jerusalem, capping a day of escalating claims: earlier at 19:10 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported Trump's initial disclosure of the operation, and by 21:12 Jerusalem the president declared Iran "finished" after 200 tankers crossed the strait.
The thread began with reports at 19:10 Jerusalem that Trump revealed a secret U.S. naval mission moving more than 200 vessels through the strait without Iranian interference. Within the same hour, The Zioneer published multiple updates: Trump said the U.S. extracted millions of barrels of oil, specifying 22 tankers with disabled radar systems, and attributed the $85-per-barrel oil price to the operation. The story has moved from single-sourced claims to a detailed presidential account with specific figures and tactical details — disabled radars, nighttime movement, and the cumulative volume of 100 million barrels — though no independent verification or Iranian response has been reported.
As The Zioneer reported at 07:50 and 02:09 Jerusalem, Iran declared the strait closed in retaliation for U.S. strikes. The Zioneer's background coverage (June 10 coverage at 14:37 and 19:15-21:12 Jerusalem) has framed this as a central theater in the U.S.-Iran confrontation, with Trump earlier describing a naval blockade as a "steel wall" and Iran facing economic collapse.
What remains open: No official Iranian response to the disclosure has been reported. Trump provided no operational details on how the tankers moved undetected or whether U.S. naval units were directly involved, leaving the mechanics of the claimed operation unverifiable from independent sources at this hour.
14 developments
- ConfirmedTrump declares Iran 'finished' as 200 oil tankers cross Strait of Hormuz
- StrongTrump says tankers are sailing out of Strait of Hormuz, contradicting Iranian reports
- DevelopingNBC report: No oil tanker passed Strait of Hormuz yesterday, contradicting Trump, Vance
- DevelopingReport: Trump demands immediate, non-phased reopening of Strait of Hormuz and end to naval blockade
Source and signal
- Internal intake