WANA (Mar 10) – A claim by the U.S. energy secretary that an oil tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz under U.S. Navy escort was quickly withdrawn after a strong reaction from Iranian military officials.

 

The episode began when Chris Wright posted on X that “an oil tanker escorted by the U.S. Navy has passed through the Strait of Hormuz.” The statement drew an immediate response from Iranian commanders.

 

Alireza Tangsiri rejected the claim and wrote: “From the beginning of the war we announced—and we repeat it again—no vessel linked to aggressors against Iran has the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. If you doubt it, come closer and test it.”

 

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy added: “The claim that an oil tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz under U.S. military escort is completely false. Any movement by U.S. fleets and their allies will be stopped within the range of Iranian missiles and drones.”

 

Minutes after these remarks, the post by the U.S. energy secretary was deleted. Meanwhile, a reporter from Fox News quoted a source at the White House as saying that “the announcement had been released too early.”

 

Shortly afterward, the White House spokesperson also confirmed that no U.S. military escort had taken place in the Strait of Hormuz.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also reacted to the report with a sarcastic remark. Referring to the claim, he said that if a tanker had indeed passed the strait under U.S. naval escort, “perhaps it happened on a PlayStation.”

 

Meanwhile, Ebrahim Rezaei addressed Donald Trump with a direct challenge, saying: “Mr. Trump! If you are not bluffing and you are not afraid, send the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) to the Strait of Hormuz and escort a tanker.”

 

Oil prices fluctuated sharply tonight. After a tweet by the U.S. Secretary of Energy claiming that an oil tanker was being escorted through the Strait of Hormuz, prices fell by 8.3%. After the tweet was denied and deleted, prices rose by 5.5%, and they increased by another 8.5% following claims that the Strait of Hormuz had been mined.