Senior US military officials on Friday declined to provide a timeline for reopening the strait of Hormuz or explain how the Pentagon will accomplish the task.
Only a handful of oil tankers have passed through the strait since the US-Israel war against Iran and Tehran's retaliatory attacks began on 28 February. About 25pc of globally traded crude volumes and 20pc of LNG supply is unable to leave the Mideast Gulf.
"We want to make sure that we do the work pursuant to our current military objectives" before undertaking President Donald Trump's offer of escorting commercial ships through the strait of Hormuz, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, General Dan Caine said. "It's a tactically complex environment," he said.
Caine did not provide a timeline for when naval escorts could begin.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth spent much time at the briefing pushing back on what he called "patently ridiculous" reports that the Pentagon did not anticipate the potential impacts from the closure of Hormuz. "We have been dealing with it, and (you) don't need to worry about it", Hegseth said.
"The only thing prohibiting transit in the strait right now is Iran shooting at shipping," Hegseth said. "It is open for transit should Iran not do that."
The US military is ensuring the "freedom of navigation" in the Mideast Gulf by attacking the Iranian navy and mine-laying capacity, Caine said. But he acknowledged that Iran used surface-to-surface missiles to attack ships in the Mideast Gulf, and there is no indication that the strait of Hormuz is mined.
The US military has "a plan for every option here", Hegseth said, without disclosing what those plans and options are.
"That's not a strait we're going to allow to remain contested or with a lack of flow of commercial goods," Hegseth said. "So, we're aware of that. We're laser focused on our military objective but also want to make sure our partners across this government understand we're working with you to make sure that energy flows."
