The US military has established a secret secure shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz, allowing roughly 10 million barrels of oil per day — nearly half the pre-war volume — to exit the strategic waterway, according to Axios citing two US officials. The US Air Force has deployed fighter jets over the route to counter Iranian missiles and drones.
The reported establishment of a secure shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz marks the most overt US effort to maintain oil flow through the Iranian-controlled chokepoint since the escalation of direct US-Iran military confrontation in recent months. According to the Axios report, the route was created quietly and is protected by US Air Force fighter jets tasked with countering Iranian missiles and drones.
As The Zioneer previously reported, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) closed the Strait of Hormuz in mid-July after firing on a vessel it accused of using an unauthorized route. The closure came amid a series of US strikes on Iranian infrastructure, including railway bridges in the north and targets near Bandar Abbas. In the weeks since, OSINT data indicated continued oil exports through a separate US-backed southern corridor in the Gulf of Oman.
The latest development suggests the US is shifting to a more active posture to keep the strait open, potentially reducing the risk of a full blockade that could disrupt global energy markets. While the report cites two American officials, the Pentagon has not yet publicly confirmed the details. The volume of oil now transiting — about 10 million barrels per day — is roughly half of what passed through the strait before the crisis, indicating ongoing disruption despite the secure route.
2 developments
- StrongShips shift to Omani side of Hormuz amid nightly Iranian drone launches, report says
- DevelopingIran launches roughly five drones nightly at ships in Strait of Hormuz with no US response, report says
- StrongAnalysis: U.S. systematically dismantling Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz
- DevelopingAmerican source: daily oil transport through Hormuz exceeds 10 million barrels, 5 million via alternatives
Source and signal
- Open-source intake