Traffic In Strait Of Hormuz Passes Key Milestone, CENTCOM Says

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Saturday that American forces have supported the movement of more than one billion barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz in recent months while enforcing a total naval blockade on Iranian ports.

“CENTCOM forces have supported more than one billion barrels of crude oil leaving the Gulf. That’s one billion barrels of crude oil out through the Strait of Hormuz in the last couple of months,” CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper announced in a video statement.

Cooper said U.S. forces reached the figure while assisting more than 2,000 commercial ship transits. “We’ve reached this significant milestone while assisting over 2,000 commercial ship transits through the Strait by providing coordinated protection. Clearly, momentum is building. Primary transit lanes in the Strait are clear of mines,” he added.

Cooper continued, “Thousands of ships have passed through the Strait. Over one billion barrels of crude have been shipped from Gulf partners through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has exported zero barrels thanks to our ironclad blockade.”

The commander went on to state that volumes have increased in recent weeks and days. “The effort is paying off. The volume of crude oil, cargo, and liquid natural gas these past two weeks is higher than at any point in the past six months.” He further noted that CENTCOM was working with U.S. government agencies, the six Gulf Cooperation Council states, insurers, and shipping companies to raise traffic through the waterway.

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🇺🇸🇮🇷Centcom now has their top commander doing propaganda videos! The US has got 1 billion barrels out!! Trump is super scared now. Plus centcom lies all the time. How many troops have really been killed or injured. A lot more than what we are being told. pic.twitter.com/UO9YYZvHFv

— Emily and Me (@EmilyandMe2) September 19, 2026

The figure covers oil leaving the Persian Gulf from partner states, not Iranian crude. CENTCOM has issued earlier tallies of assisted traffic since early May, with more than 800 vessels and 380 million barrels estimated by July 9, about 1,000 vessels and 500 million barrels by late July, and about 1,300 vessels and 660 million barrels by August 21.

The latest announcement places the cumulative supported volume above one billion barrels.

The ongoing U.S. naval blockade targets vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas. It was first imposed on April 13 and held through the briefly-lived memorandum of understanding peace agreement until mid-June, when it was reinstated. CENTCOM has described the two tasks as simultaneous priorities of protecting commercial traffic through internationally recognized lanes while preventing Iranian maritime trade.

As of September 20, CENTCOM said its forces had redirected 109 commercial vessels to ensure compliance. Earlier updates reported that some vessels had been disabled or boarded and that humanitarian shipments had been permitted.

Prior to the eruption of the conflict on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz normally carried about one-fifth of global seaborne oil, or roughly 20 million barrels per day of crude and products. Traffic remains below pre-conflict levels, though U.S. officials and independent ship tracking data have indicated that traffic is trending up.

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