Trump cites oil flows through Hormuz, but White House figure measures Gulf exports

In an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes broadcast on 8 November, Trump said the strait was open and that The Wall Street Journal had reported more oil passing through it than at the beginning of the war.

The following day, the White House highlighted the exchange. It said the newspaper had reported that Persian Gulf oil exports had surpassed their pre-war level, reaching more than 24 million barrels a day, thanks to a shipping system under US protection.

But Gulf exports and oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz are different measures. The White House summary does not specify the routes or period behind the export figure, or how much went through the strait. The pre-war comparison is also different from Trump’s comparison with the beginning of the war. The export figure alone therefore does not establish his claim.

Interviewer Ross Douthat said ships passing through the strait were being protected by a large US military presence and asked how that presence could eventually be withdrawn. Trump described it as “not very expensive” and said countries the US had protected would repay its war costs.

Oil flows have also featured in the debate over American fuel prices. In October, Trump argued that refinery damage, rather than Hormuz, was driving petrol prices. At the time, the International Energy Agency identified both limited refining capacity and continuing Middle East disruption as factors in fuel markets, as an earlier NMC report on Trump’s fuel-price claims explained.