CNN reported, citing two US officials familiar with the operation, that the US military escorted 40 commercial ships carrying 18 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. A wartime record.
The escort happened as the US and Iran entered another round of confrontations. The officials said the US used multiple air, sea, and space assets to weaken Iran's ability to attack ships in the strait. And during the high-risk mission, US forces also beat back several drone attacks and destroyed an anti-ship cruise missile.
The officials said the operation lines up with a change in US war strategy. The Trump administration has put its focus on striking targets around the strait, escorting commercial ships through the critical waterway, and keeping a naval blockade on Iranian ports. All of that sits inside its "maximum pressure" campaign to raise economic pressure on the Iranian regime.
But even after Tuesday's operation succeeded, US officials are not expecting the conflict to be resolved quickly. Energy companies are still worried about the serious risks tied to sending ships through the Strait of Hormuz, even with US military escorts.