Did US sneak 100 million barrels of oil out of Hormuz, as Trump claims?

Live connected television, President Donald Trump, sitting successful the Oval Office, told reporters connected Wednesday that the United States has been sneaking millions of barrels of lipid retired of the Strait of Hormuz contempt tensions defying Iran’s restrictions connected transit done the waterway.

That is why, Trump claimed, lipid prices person hovered astir $90 a tube successful caller days, alternatively of staying supra $100 a tube arsenic was the lawsuit successful the aboriginal weeks of the US-Israel warfare connected Iran.

The narrow, strategical waterway — which hosts 20 percent of the world’s vigor flows — has mostly been unopen since aboriginal March aft the US and Israel attacked Tehran.

In aboriginal March, Iran said it would not let transition to immoderate ships done the strait. Then it agreed to let constricted ships from prime “friendly” countries through, connected the information that they negotiated their transit with Iran. On April 13, 5 days aft agreeing to a ceasefire with Tehran, the US imposed a naval blockade connected Iranian ships and ports.

With the US naval blockade connected 1 broadside and the Iranian authorities connected the other, lone a fewer ships person been capable to transverse the Strait of Hormuz.

Against that backdrop, has the US so been capable to get ships carrying millions of barrels of lipid retired of the strait without Iran’s permission?

Trump speaks successful the Oval Office astatine the White House successful Washington, DC, June 10, 2026 [Evan Vucci/Reuters]

What has Trump claimed?

On Wednesday, astatine the White House, Trump said the US has “been taking retired millions of barrels of oil. Nobody knows it”.

He added that Iran was blindsided by the US moves. “We took retired the different nighttime 22 ships precocious astatine nighttime with nary lights, due to the fact that they don’t person immoderate radar, due to the fact that we blasted the crap retired of it [Iran’s strategical infrastructure].”

The president said helium was choosing to speech astir this alleged concealed ngo due to the fact that Tehran had figured it out.

Later, helium repeated the assertion connected his Truth Social platform, saying helium directed the US subject past period to undertake the “secret ngo to enactment Oil Tankers and different Commercial Ships done the Strait of Hormuz”.

He added that this effort has led to the question of 100 cardinal barrels of oil, transiting the strait.

“More than 200 Commercial Ships person safely traveled done the Strait. This wildly palmy effort is due to the fact that the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran,” Trump wrote.

“Their subject is defeated, and their system is lost. It’s implicit for Iran!”

However, Trump’s vigor secretary, Chris Wright, told a legislature ‌hearing the aforesaid time that helium was not alert of the US taking millions of barrels ⁠of lipid retired done the Strait of Hormuz, though helium added that the subject helped to get immoderate lipid retired of the constrictive passage.

Wright clarified that the vessels making it done the strait ⁠were not Iranian.

The Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, usage the waterway to export supplies.

Did the US negociate to sneak past Iran?

Let america enactment Trump’s assertion successful context. In his societal media post, the president claimed the subject pushed retired 100 cardinal barrels of lipid done the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the warfare broke retired successful the Gulf waters, astir 140 vessels, including lipid tankers, transited the chokepoint transition daily, sandwiched betwixt the coasts of Iran and Oman. The transition hosted astir 20 cardinal barrels per time earlier tensions.

The president’s assertion of 100 cardinal barrels of lipid is astir adjacent to 5 days of pre-war output — compared with immoderate 2 cardinal barrels that should person transited done the Strait of Hormuz implicit the duration of the war, if not for the ongoing conflict.

But adjacent 5 days of pre-war maritime postulation done the strait would magnitude to astir 700 ships.

And while, arsenic Trump claimed, vessels being guided by the US subject successful the waterway person astatine times turned disconnected their transponders, determination is nary grounds truthful acold that the measurement of postulation passing done the strait during the warfare is capable to enactment his claims.

Shipping tracking and quality companies connection differing numbers of vessels that crossed the strait since tensions began. That is due to the fact that their criteria disagree connected what constitutes a transit.

Windward recorded astir 80 commercialized ships leaving the Gulf successful the past 5 weeks; Lloyd’s List estimates 142 vessels person near the waters since March; and Kpler puts that fig astatine its highest, signaling 264 vessel transits.

Even Kpler’s fig falls good abbreviated of the level of maritime postulation that, earlier the war, would person amounted to 100 cardinal barrels of lipid passing done the Strait of Hormuz.

Many of the ships that person passed done the strait person transited with Iranian authorisation — paying tolls to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — alternatively than done a US strategy that kept Tehran successful the dark.

The Epaminondas vessel is seen during seizure by the IRGC successful the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, connected April 24, 2026 [Meysam Mirzadeh/Tasnim via Reuters]

Who controls the Strait of Hormuz?

The US military’s relation successful aiding ships is not clear. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson, said successful a connection that the forces “communicate and coordinate” with commercialized ships successful the country without delving into details.

In the look of the US’s economically punishing naval blockade against Iran’s ports, the IRGC maintains a steadfast grip implicit the strategical waterway.

Countries affable to Tehran — similar Pakistan, India and Russia — person negotiated a transit for immoderate of their vessels, carrying indispensable vigor supplies. Some ships besides reportedly made payments successful yuan, the Chinese currency, to unafraid a passage.

Iran has travel astir to spot the Strait of Hormuz arsenic an economical lifeline successful post-war times, and has introduced insurance-like charges to authorise transits. The US has opposed this imposition, and critics person said it is fundamentally an amerciable toll booth successful an planetary waterway.

Tehran says the Strait of Hormuz is not successful planetary waters, but shared exclusively betwixt Iran and Oman.

“Iran appears to beryllium attempting to person its geographic leverage into fiscal leverage,” said Oscar Seikaly, CEO of NSI Insurance Group, based successful Florida, US. “The underlying thought is old: Control the chokepoint, past complaint for access.”

As Al Jazeera has reported earlier, Seikaly excessively argued that it works retired cheaper — successful the agelong tally — for ships to wage Iran a interest alternatively than enactment stranded successful the strait.

Seikaly said a precise ample crude bearer — besides known arsenic a VLCC tanker — would outgo astir $100,000 per day, and a 100-day hold would magnitude to $10m.

“That is earlier you adjacent relationship for cargo financing, security complications, crew, bunkers, security, contractual penalties,” helium told Al Jazeera. “In a stressed market, the existent economical nonaccomplishment tin beryllium materially higher.”

However, paying Iran is not an enactment galore ships opt for due to the fact that “it tin make sanctions exposure, ineligible risk, reputational risk, and security problems”, Seikaly said.