President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that over 100 million barrels of crude oil have transited the Strait of Hormuz as part of a "secret mission" he authorized for the U.S. military to support oil tankers passing through the strait.

Trump stated on Truth Social that day, "Last month, I directed our great military to carry out a secret operation to support oil tankers and other commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Today, I am pleased to announce that thanks to these efforts, over 100 million barrels of crude oil have passed through the strait and supplied the general market."

He added, "Over 200 commercial ships have safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz. This tremendous success is because the entity controlling the Strait of Hormuz is not Iran, but rather the United States of America. Iran's military has been defeated, its economy has collapsed. Iran is finished!"

This statement elaborates on President Trump's earlier remark at an event in the Oval Office that day, "We have been bringing out millions of barrels of oil every night. This is the first time I'm announcing it."

He also commented that thanks to these oil supplies, "oil prices are at the $85-$90 per barrel level, not $250 per barrel. (Oil prices) will plummet when the war ends."

Previously, on Monday, May 4th, President Trump announced the launch of "Project Freedom" to assist civilian vessels trapped in the region due to Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to pass through the strait safely. However, the following day, May 5th, he declared a suspension after just one day, citing progress in peace negotiations with Iran.

At the time, on the first day of the operation, 8-9 large vessels were seen transiting Hormuz, broadcast by media outlets like Fox News. Iran immediately retaliated, threatening to attack ships, and indeed, attacks on some vessels followed. Among the damaged ships at the time was the South Korean vessel HMM Namu, which was hit by an Iranian missile on May 4th.

It is likely that President Trump announced the suspension of "Project Freedom" publicly while secretly continuing similar operations with the U.S. military.

U.S. NNP=Chief Reporter Hong Seong-gu / Special correspondent for this paper NNP info@newsandpost.com