Axios: US created covert oil corridor through the Strait of Hormuz

The US military has quietly established a shipping corridor in and out of the Strait of Hormuz to transport millions of barrels of oil each day, marking a notable success even as the broader war remains at a stalemate, two US officials told Axios.

Under the operation, which has been underway for the past several weeks, 15–20 tankers have been entering and exiting the strait each night through a southern channel running along the coast of Oman.

The officials said that around 10 million barrels of oil are being transported through the strait each day — roughly half the volume recorded before the war — and released into the global energy market.

According to the report, the operation goes beyond escorting outbound tankers carrying oil. The US military is also helping empty tankers enter the Gulf from the Arabian Sea through the strait, load oil from countries in the region, and then exit the waterway.

The full details of the operation have not been disclosed publicly until now.

“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,” one of the US officials, who has direct knowledge of the matter, said.

The operation is being overseen by the US military in coordination with partners in the Persian Gulf. They are organising the passage of both loaded vessels and empty tankers heading to ports in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait.

The vessels transit the waterway at night in fixed convoys under constant cover from US Air Force fighter jets.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would eventually lose its importance for oil supplies.

By Jeyhun Aghazada