Key Facts

• President Trump said the U.S. conducted a secret mission to help oil tankers and commercial ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
• He claimed this effort allowed more than 100 million barrels of oil and 200 commercial ships to travel safely through the strait.
• The mission occurred last month during ongoing conflict with Iran.
• Iran has closed the strait to regular commercial shipping because of the conflict.
• U.S. officials confirmed coordination efforts to guide ships through the strait, but did not fully verify Trump’s specific numbers.
• This recent operation is different from Project Freedom, an earlier brief U.S. military escort program for commercial vessels.
• Some ships in the area reportedly turned off their tracking devices to avoid being detected.
• The Strait of Hormuz is a strategically important waterway for global oil shipments and is controlled by the U.S. Navy in this context, not Iran.