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19 Aug 2026, 21:42

Axios reported on Wednesday, August 28, 2026, that the U.S. military has established a shipping route under its control in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz over the past few weeks, enabling the daily transfer of millions of barrels of oil to the global market; a move that, according to two U.S. officials, has reduced some of the disruptions in oil exports caused by the ongoing war.

These two U.S. officials told Axios that as part of this operation, about 15 to 20 oil tankers enter or exit the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz along the coast of Oman each night. They stated that currently, around 10 million barrels of oil are being transported daily through this route from the Strait to the global market; a figure that is nearly half of the oil transfer volume before the war.

According to Axios, the U.S. operation is not limited to escorting oil tankers. U.S. forces also bring empty tankers from the Arabian Sea through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf so that these tankers can reload oil at the ports of regional countries and then exit again via the southern route.

One U.S. official closely involved in this operation said that the U.S. has controlled the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz for about two months. He added that the Revolutionary Guard may create "disturbances" for the ships, but does not have control over the Strait.

The report states that the oil transfer operation is coordinated by a special group based at the U.S. Army base at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. This group collaborates with Arab countries in the region and prepares a daily list of ships expected to enter the Arabian Sea from the Persian Gulf, as well as empty tankers entering the Gulf for loading oil.

The ships move in two specific time frames each night, in the form of two separate convoys for entering and exiting the Strait, and pass through the southern route under the guidance of U.S. forces. U.S. Air Force fighter jets also protect this operation against Iranian cruise missiles and drones.

According to U.S. officials, the establishment of this route was made possible after a two-week operation by U.S. Central Command, CENTCOM, against Iran's radar and maritime surveillance systems. As a result of this operation, Iran's ability to monitor ship movements in the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz has diminished.

U.S. officials say that Iran now relies mainly on a few refurbished radars and forces stationed on the Revolutionary Guard's speedboats to monitor this route. They noted that the reduction in surveillance capability has led to Iranian drone and cruise missile attacks being directed more towards areas where ships are likely to be present.

Axios has reported that several ships have been damaged in Iranian attacks, but U.S. forces have intercepted some of these attacks. According to one U.S. official, earlier this week, U.S. forces shot down eight Iranian drones and two cruise missiles.

The report states that over the past two weeks, 15 to 20 oil tankers have passed through the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz each night, and the average daily oil transfer has now reached nearly 10 million barrels. U.S. officials say that on some nights in recent weeks, the volume of oil exiting the Persian Gulf has reached 15 to 20 million barrels.

According to one of these officials, on one night this week, more than 20 ships were scheduled to pass through the southern route of the Strait, and if the plan had been fully executed, about 15 million barrels of oil would have exited the Gulf.

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, also told Axios that "a very large volume of oil" is exiting the Strait of Hormuz. He also stated that the U.S. is not currently negotiating with Iran and added that the Islamic Republic is "wasting time" in negotiations.

Trump also mentioned that Iran still has the capacity to resist, but overall has become "much weaker than before."
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