Washington, March 12 (SANA) US Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced on Thursday that the United States is currently “not ready” to deploy military escorts for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. He emphasized that the Pentagon’s primary focus is the ongoing mission to dismantle Iran’s offensive military infrastructure.
Speaking to CNBC, Wright explained that the US Navy cannot immediately commit to escort duties because its assets are fully engaged in destroying the manufacturing industries and military capabilities that Iran uses to project force. “It’ll happen relatively soon, but it can’t happen now,” Wright stated, suggesting that naval escorts might be feasible by the end of March once key military objectives are secured.
To mitigate the resulting “price crunch” at the pump, Wright confirmed that the US will release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) starting next week. This release is part of a broader, unanimous decision by the 32-member International Energy Agency (IEA) to flood the market with 400 million barrels—the largest coordinated release in history.
Despite these measures, global energy markets remain on edge. The Strait of Hormuz, which handles approximately 20% of the world’s oil, remains effectively closed to most traffic due to the threat of Iranian projectiles. The IEA has labeled the current situation as the “largest disruption” to oil supplies in the history of the global market.
