West Asia conflict: White House confirms US Navy did not escort vessels via Stra

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday local time said that the United States has not escorted any vessels or tankers via the Strait of Hormuz amid the developing security situation in West Asia and the Gulf She made the remarks during the press briefing while taking questions from the mediaWhen asked about a nowdeleted post by the US Energy Secretary which claimed that the US Navy had escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz Leavitt said that while she was aware of the post she confirmed that the US Navy did not escort any tanker or vessel through the Strait of Hormuz however the option remains ready to be utilised if when and when necessaryLeavitt told the media I was made aware of this post I havent had a chance to talk to the Energy Secretary about it directly I can confirm that the US Navy has not escorted a tanker or vessel at this time though of course thats an option the President has said he will absolutely utilise if and when necessary at the appropriate time Meanwhile in a post on X Press TV had shared the nowdeleted post by Secretary Chris WrightUS Energy Secretary Chris Wright has removed a social media post that claimed the United States Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz Follow httpstcoB3zXG73Jym pictwittercomWQ5OWo7tECmdash Press TV PressTV March 10 2026Leavitt further highlighted that the Trump administration has offered political risk insurance to the tankers operating in the Gulf with the commanderinchief offering the support of the US Navy to escort tankers when necessaryAs for the oil President Trump fully expected the rogue Iranian regime to try to disrupt the global oil markets That is why President Trump and his energy team have been planning for this long before the strike and have moved quickly to address these temporary disruptions Thus far the Trump administration has offered political risk insurance to tankers operating in the Gulf The Treasury temporarily waived certain oilrelated sanctions And the commanderinchief has offered the US Navy to escort tankers when necessary The President and his energy team are closely watching the markets speaking with industry leaders and the US military is drawing up additional options following the Presidents directive to continue keeping the Strait of Hormuz open Leavitt told mediaThe Strait of Hormuz a narrow maritime passage connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman is one of the worlds most critical energy chokepoints with a significant portion of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passing through itPreviously growing concerns over disruptions to global oil supplies President Donald Trump announced that the United States would take immediate steps to safeguard maritime trade in the Gulf region including offering political risk insurance and potentially deploying naval escorts through the Strait of HormuzIn a post on Truth Social Trump said he had directed the United States Development Finance Corporation DFC to provide political risk insurance and guarantees to ensure the financial security of all maritime trade particularly energy shipments transiting through the GulfEffective IMMEDIATELY I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation DFC to provide at a very reasonable price political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade If necessary the United States Navy will beginhellip pictwittercompIJyFwL78jmdash The White House WhiteHouse March 3 2026Amid the recent increase in oil and gas prices in the wake of the conflict in West Asia and the Gulf Leavitt told the media that the oil and gas prices would soon come down potentially even lower than what they were before the start of Operation Epic FuryShe said Rest assured to the American people recent increase in oil and gas prices is temporary and this operation will result in lower gas prices in the long term Once the national security objectives of Operation Epic Fury are fully achieved Americans will see oil and gas prices drop rapidly potentially even lower than they were prior to the start of the operation We will live in a world where Iran can no longer threaten the United States or our allies with a nuclear bombIn her remarks the White House Secretary reiterated the sentiment of the US President who warned Iran against taking actions to restrict the flow of oil or goods via the Strait of HormuzLeavitt said Last night President Trump reiterated his commitment toward keeping oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz so the United States and all of our allies can meet their energy needs President Trump will not allow rogue Iranian terrorists to stop the freedom of navigation and the free flow of energyAs the President made unequivocally clear to the remaining elements of this terrorist regime in his statement yesterday if they do anything to stop the flow of oil or goods within the Strait of Hormuz they will be hit by the worlds most powerful military 20 times harder than they have been hit thus farThe remarks come amid an escalating security situation in West Asia which has resulted in the conflict being now expanded beyond Iran with Iranian retaliatory strikesusing missiles and dronestargeting US military bases embassies and civilianenergy infrastructure in neighbouring Gulf nations including the UAE Saudi Arabia Qatar Kuwait Bahrain and JordanThe conflict has caused significant disruptions to global energy supplies particularly around the Strait of Hormuz where approximately 2037 of the worlds oil transitsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever