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The US Navy has yet to escort an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, the White House said Tuesday, after the US energy secretary posted, then deleted, that naval assets had escorted an oil tanker through the contested waterway.
“I can confirm that the US Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing at the White House. “Though, of course, that’s an option the president has said he will absolutely utilize if and when necessary, at the appropriate time.”
An Energy Department spokesperson later said a video clip on Wright’s X account had been “incorrectly captioned by Department of Energy staff.”
“President Trump, Secretary Wright, and the rest of the President’s energy team are closely monitoring the situation, speaking with industry leaders, and having the U.S. military draw up additional options to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, including the potential for our Navy to escort tankers,” the spokesperson said.
Wright’s official X account had posted earlier Tuesday: “The U.S. Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.” The message was deleted a few minutes later.
On Tuesday morning, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said that “if tasked to escort” oil ships through the strait, the military would “look at the range of options to set the military conditions to be able to do that.”
Trump first raised the idea of naval escorts last week. But he said Monday he hoped they would’t be needed. Internal deliberations over the timing and conditions for a US naval operation have been a central focus inside the administration, according to multiple people briefed on the planning.
Oil prices, which were already trading lower, took another step lower after Wright’s post before paring those losses after he deleted it.
US crude oil prices traded just above $84 per barrel before Wright’s post, fell as low as $76.73 per barrel shortly after the post, and then bounced back and traded around $84.70 per barrel as of 2:23 p.m. ET. US oil prices are still down more than 10% on the day.