US says to escort ships in Strait of Hormuz 'soon'

The US energy secretary said Friday the US Navy was preparing to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz "as soon as it's reasonable to do it," as traffic through the key trade route remains strangled due to the US-Israel war on Iran.

"As soon as it's reasonable to do it, we'll escort ships through the straits and get the energy moving again," Chris Wright told US broadcaster Fox News's "Fox and Friends" show.

US President Donald Trump had said on Tuesday that the US Navy would "begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible" in a bid to avoid disruption of global oil supplies.


A fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas travels through the strait.

The US-Israel war on Iran launched a week ago and Tehran's retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region have sent crude prices soaring to their highest in nearly two years -- fanning fears of a fresh spike in inflation that could hit the global economy.

"On Thursday, day six of the conflict, commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained virtually nonexistent, with activity largely limited to Iranian vessels," said a JP Morgan note released Friday.

International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol, however, sought to tamp down fears of a global oil crisis, saying on Friday that there was "plenty of oil in the market."

Wright also addressed a US decision to allow India a temporary sanctions exemption to buy Russian oil as being "pragmatic."

The US energy secretary said there was "no change in policy against Russia," whose energy industry continues to face strict US sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine.

High gasoline prices are a key pain point for US political leaders, potentially fueling inflation that already has many households feeling the pinch.

Average US gasoline prices have risen about 11 percent in the last week, according to the AAA gas prices gauge on Friday.

Wright said he hoped fuel prices at US pumps would come down in a matter of "weeks, not months."