Axios: Washington’s stealth oil operation

Posted on August 19, 2026 by michelleclarke2015
Washington’s stealth oil operation
 
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

The U.S. military has quietly established a shipping corridor in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. officials tell Axios’ Barak Ravid.

🚢 Under the operation, which has been underway for the past several weeks, 15–20 tankers have entered and exited the strait through a southern channel along the coast of Oman.

About 10 million barrels of oil a day are being transported out of the strait and injected into the global energy market, the officials said. That’s roughly half the pre-war volume.

⚓️ The U.S. military is helping empty tankers enter the Gulf from the Arabian Sea through the strait, pick up oil from the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait, and then exit.

One of the U.S. officials, who has direct knowledge of the matter, tells Axios: “We have been controlling the southern lane of the Strait of Hormuz for two months now. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps can be a nuisance, but they don’t control the strait. We do.”

🪖 The task force overseeing the Hormuz effort is being run out of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division headquarters in Fort Bragg, N.C.

It creates a daily list of ships exiting the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Arabian Sea, as well as a list of rented empty tankers that travel from the Arabian Sea, through the strait and into the ports of Gulf countries to pick up more oil.

Each night, the ships are scheduled to move in one big outbound line during a certain time slot and one big inbound line during a separate time slot.

The ships are given several checkpoints to pass through and report back.

The U.S. Air Force has fighter jets looking for Iranian cruise missiles and drones to shoot down. Keep reading.
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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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