The US Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The navy's assessments spell continued disruption to Middle East oil exports and reflect a divergence from President Donald Trump’s statements that the US is prepared to provide naval escorts whenever needed to restart regular shipments along the key waterway.
Shipping along the narrow strait has all but halted since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran more than a week ago, preventing exports of around a fifth of the world’s oil supply and sending global oil prices surging to highs not seen since 2022.
A senior official with Iran's Revolutionary Guards has said the strait is closed and Iran will fire on any ship trying to pass, Iranian media reported last week. Several ships have already been hit.
The US Navy has held regular briefings with shipping and oil industry counterparts and has said during those briefings it is unable to provide escorts for the timebeing, three shipping industry sources familiar with the matter said.
The sources, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the shipping industry has been making requests almost daily during the calls for naval escorts through the strait.
One of the sources said the navy’s assessment during Tuesday’s briefing had not changed and that escorts would only be possible once the risk of attack was reduced.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Jonathan Saul, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Arathy Somasekhar and John Irish; Editing Richard Valdmanis and Lisa Shumaker)
