Tag Archives: Israeli strikes

US Energy Sec Chris Wright Quietly Deletes X Post on Navy Escorting Oil Tankers Cross Strait of Hormuz

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U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright posted on X a little earlier today stating that the U.S Navy had escorted an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, which is strategically important, in order to effectively guarantee that oil continued to flow into the world markets. The post was removed soon and it caused some confusion and quick backlash in the current U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

The message that has been deleted mentioned that the Navy escort had done so to make sure that oil keeps flowing to world markets, as various sources and screenshots that were posted on social media confirm. The reason why Wright deleted the post is not clear, although the news outlets such as Reuters and others reported that no such escort operation had occurred. The U.S. Department of Defense and Central Command did not promptly confirm any escort operation and the claim to the passing of the Fox News was described by the military sources as not conforming to the reality.

Chris Wright

The conflict comes at a very sensitive moment when the traffic of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about 20 percent of all the seaborne oil in the world passes, has been hard hit. Shipping has been much curbed by the skyrocketing war risk insurance rates, Iranian threats to attack ships, and a general caution among shipowners. Recent reports show that hundreds of tankers anchored or rerouted and some estimates show that millions of barrels of oil are trapped in the Persian Gulf.

The Revolutionary Guards of Iran were quick to disown the assertion. Spokesman Alimohammad Naini, who was quoted by the state media, termed it as a total lie and threatened to counter any movements of the U.S. or any other allied fleet with missiles and drones. Our missiles and drones will intercept any action of the US fleet and allies, said Naini.

Iran Puts Conditions Galore

It had the ability to momentarily affect the oil markets and some of the reports indicated that the prices dropped and then rose again above $80 per barrel as the deletion and the denials happened. This is after Wright had made previous remarks on TV that he minimized immediate dangers and that U.S. military activities were undermining the capacities of Iran to threaten shipping, and that flows would be restored soon again, possibly with naval escorts.

According to satellite and tracking information, the number of vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz has reduced drastically since at the beginning of March and most of the tankers are concentrated in the relatively safer waters off the UAE and Oman.

The erasure has given rise to the speculation of miscommunication or prematureity in the administration since the administration of President Trump has indicated a number of times that it was willing to offer the protection of the commercial shipping should the conditions be in favor of it. But analysts observe that the masses of escorts are logistically difficult and dangerous considering the asymmetric threats of Iran. The trend highlights how unstable the world energy markets are during the conflict, as the oil prices fluctuate and the economic effects of the conflict continue to accumulate across the globe. More amendments are likely to follow with the Pentagon and the White House rectifying the discrepancy.

Israel Strikes Iran Oil Fields, Black Rain Envelopes Tehran; Breathing Problem Pervades

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Thick black clouds covered the Tehran areas on Sunday with residents claiming that when it rains, oily residue fell onto the ground following Israeli airstrikes to various oil storage and fuel distribution sites around the Iranian capital that caused massive fires, causing plumes of smoke to fill the Iranian capital.

The attacks, which were declared late on Saturday, were directed to the oil storage tanks and fuel transfer stations in Tehran and the adjacent province of Alborz, as per Iranian media. There were also large mass fires and explosions observed in various areas because the combustible tanks emitted heavy smoke which covered big parts of the city.

The inhabitants reported about a weird dark rain that made the streets, automobiles and buildings black. This was found to be due to the mixing of soot, oil particles and other pollutants of the burning facilities with rain clouds as they swept over the capital.

Governments encouraged their citizens to remain at home and wear masks because of poor air quality. The environmental officials had cautioned that the smoke had hydrocarbons and other chemicals which might irritate the lungs and eyes.

“It is raining oil in Tehran this morning after major airstrikes on oil facilities in the south and west of the capital,” CNN correspondent Frederik Pleitgen wrote on social media.

Fars, an Iranian news agency reported that in the attacks, there were at least four oil storage depots and fuel transfer centres that were hit. There were local reports that a fuel facility was hit in the strikes killing several tanker drivers.

The assault is among the most major attacks on the Iranian energy infrastructure since the present stage of the conflict commenced towards the end of the previous month. Israel has indicated that its military activities are to undermine the strategic and military power of Iran.

Oil Pivotal in Iran Vs US-Israel Conflict

The Iranian leadership has threatened to take revenge as the tension in the region keeps building up. The escalating conflict has already had an impact on shipping operations in the Strait of Hormuz which is one of the most important oil transit routes globally.

“The world is watching the Strait of Hormuz closely because any disruption there immediately sends shockwaves through global oil markets,” one energy market analyst said.

Any kind of disturbance in the Strait of Hormuz has become a global obsession due to the fact that any kind of disruption will automatically cause ripples to the oil markets in the world, as one of the energy market analysts remarked.

To the people of Tehran, though, the burning issues are the smog that stands over the city and the strange black rain that ensued the night of the explosions and fire. Officials reported that the air quality monitoring would be ongoing when emergency personnel tried to contain the fires and know the damage.