US Central Command (CENTCOM) said US forces have helped Gulf partners export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz since the summer. Yaani: 1.5 billion barrels is 150 crore barrels — a milestone CENTCOM announced on Sunday during a visit to the waterway by its commander, Admiral Brad Cooper.

Source: CENTCOM via Business Today Malaysia

More than 3,000 commercial vessels have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz with support from CENTCOM forces over the last six months, the command said, adding that more than 95% of ships navigating the strait have sailed through safely. The figures are CENTCOM's own account of its operation.

Cooper flew over the strait in a US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter on Sunday to assess conditions and met US service members involved in clearing shipping lanes, CENTCOM said. CENTCOM attributed the mines to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — an attribution Iran disputes in the wider dispute over control of the strait.

Source: CENTCOM via Policy Daily

The Hormuz dispute deepened after joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran in February. Tehran sought to restrict shipping and demanded permission for vessels to pass, while Washington imposed a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports and sought to keep Gulf oil moving. The strait normally handles about one-fifth of global oil exports, so its flow matters directly for fuel prices, flights and remittances for Indian and Punjabi workers across the Gulf.

Maritime tracking firm Kpler data cited in reports said crude exports from the Gulf, excluding Iran, recovered in September to pre-war levels, at at least 16.5 million barrels a day. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this month Iran had lost complete control of the strait — a claim Tehran contests, maintaining its forces hold control over the waterway.