According to reports from The New York Times and The Independent, on June 10 local time, U.S. President Donald Trump revealed a ‘secret mission’ involving the transportation of millions of barrels of oil under the noses of Iran.
Trump said that this task was extremely secretive, and the Iranians only learned about it now.
On the morning of June 10 local time, Trump said to reporters at the White House: “I can say this now. There’s something you don’t know about… Do you know that we have been transporting millions of barrels of oil? No one knows. Do you know who doesn’t know about this? Iran… they only know about it now.”
He said, “One night, we sent out 22 ships. It was deep night, and there was no light. Since they had no radar, we destroyed their radar.”
I really want to say it out loud, but I don't want to mess up the action, and I'm going through a lot of agony. He said," We shipped millions of barrels of oil, this is why the oil price now is 85 dollars/barrel, 90 dollars/barrel instead of 250 dollars/barrel."
According to The New York Times, the truth is not as dramatic as it seems. A senior U.S. officer said that Trump referred to the U.S.’s efforts to guide dozens of merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to reports, although this operation was sufficiently secretive, it hardly counts as news for Iran.
The New York Times reported in late May that the United States Central Command had directed approximately 70 merchant ships to pass through the Hormuz Strait.
Above-mentioned senior officers stated that within a period of more than one month, ships traversing the Holsmooze Strait have exceeded 200.
Later on the evening of June 10th, local time, Trump posted a message on social media, stating that in May, he ordered the U.S. military to carry out a secret mission to provide support for oil vessels and other commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. "Today, I am happy to announce that this operation has allowed more than 100 million barrels of oil to pass through the strait and enter the open market, with over 200 commercial ships safely passing through the strait."
He claimed that this operation was a great success because the United States controls the Hormuz Strait, not Iran. “Their army has been defeated, and their economy has collapsed.”
It is reported that in early May, the U.S. military launched the ‘Free Plan’, aimed at allowing stranded oil vessels and other ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. However, Trump soon announced the suspension of this operation.
According to NBC, two American officials said that when Trump announced the 'Freedom Plan', Gulf allies felt unprepared and were angered by Saudi leadership. In response, Saudi Arabia informed the United States not to allow American aircraft to take off from the Prince Sultan Air Base in southeastern Riyadh, nor to allow American aircraft to fly over Saudi territory to support the operation.
Officials said that afterwards, Trump spoke with the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed. However, this did not solve the problem, forcing Trump to suspend the “Freedom Plan” in order to regain the U.S. military’s right to use that critical airspace.
