Between 10 million and 11 million barrels of oil are passing through the Strait of Hormuz each day despite restrictions imposed by Iran on the strategic waterway, a senior White House official told Agence France-Presse on Saturday.
The official, who spoke anonymously, said Iran’s ability to restrict movement through the vital maritime route was showing signs of weakening as U.S. Navy-backed alternative arrangements continued to support commercial shipping.
The comments came a day after U.S. Central Command confirmed that 105 commercial vessels had been diverted since the United States resumed its naval blockade of Iran on July 14.
However, vessel-tracking data from Kpler indicated a sharp decline in traffic through the Strait. Only three ships were recorded passing through the waterway on Wednesday, compared with 12 the previous day and a 10-day daily average of around 17 vessels.
The Strait of Hormuz carries about 20% of the world’s oil supplies and has remained largely closed under Iranian restrictions since February 28, following the joint U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
The waterway briefly reopened after a U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding came into effect on June 18. It was subsequently closed again as military tensions escalated.
Iran has maintained that the Strait remains under its control. U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has said the waterway is “open and operating.”
The differing positions come as the volume of visible shipping through one of the world’s most important oil routes remains significantly below its recent average.
