The commander of U.S. Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, said in a video statement released on Friday that Iran's navy is "all at the bottom of the sea," that the Strait of Hormuz's internationally recognized primary transit routes have been cleared of Iranian sea mines and remain free and clear, and that American forces have helped Gulf partners export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil since the summer — while the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports has prevented Iran from exporting any oil through the strait.
Cooper said he had flown over the strait earlier this week, during a trip in which he visited some of the more than 50,000 U.S. service members supporting operations across the Middle East, including the Hormuz mission. "When I flew over the strait, I saw dozens of commercial vessels transiting — all types: cargo, crude oil, liquid natural gas, or LNG," he said. "And I also saw our U.S. assets in the air and on the water, including a squadron of advanced sea drones that were on patrol, supporting a defensive layer."
What he did not see, he said, was any Iranian force on the water. "Here's what I didn't see: I didn't see the IRGC out there at all. They patrolled the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters for decades, harassing and threatening and seizing commercial vessels at will. But they were not out there because Iran's navy is all at the bottom of the sea."
On the mines, Cooper said that after the U.S. sank Iran's navy earlier this year, its forces "also successfully cleared the strait's internationally recognized primary transit routes of Iranian sea mines, and today U.S. forces remain highly vigilant and present to ensure that all primary transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz remain free and clear" — the mine-clearing position Central Command has maintained since late August. He said he met the teams who carried out the mine-clearance mission, and who keep providing protection for commercial shipping while the blockade is strictly enforced.
"This week, we reached a significant milestone, having now assisted Gulf partners in exporting more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil since summer," Cooper said. "Meanwhile, we've prevented Iran from exporting any oil because of the ironclad blockade on Iranian ports." Central Command has said more than 3,000 commercial vessels have transited the strait with American support over the past six months. The figures are the command's own. The strait is the route through which about a fifth of the world's oil normally moves, so lanes that stay open under American protection are what keep Gulf crude flowing to buyers worldwide — the supply that reaches fuel and goods prices far beyond the region — while the same operation keeps every barrel of Iranian oil off the market.
Cooper's on-record account stands against a flood of Iranian claims about the strait in recent days — claims that tankers have been hit, stopped or set ablaze, and even that a submarine was destroyed. Some genuine incident reports in the waterway do come through the UK Maritime Trade Operations body, which records attacks on shipping; but the Iranian claims themselves are unverified, and U.S. officials have not confirmed them. Tehran's Revolutionary Guard has also disputed the American mine-clearing account and demanded proof.
The statement came the same day President Trump said the war is "going to get wrapped up soon." Speaking on Friday to a Kansas City radio station ahead of the November 3 midterms, he added: "We need a guarantee there'll never be a nuclear weapon." Trump has said the blockade "will remain in full force and effect," and that the United States will not attack Iran before the elections. Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Friday carrying revisions to a draft proposal to end the war, and a response from Iran is expected by the weekend; Tehran's stated terms begin with lifting the blockade of its ports — the blockade Cooper says his forces are still strictly enforcing.
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