Top updates: US denies escorting oil tanks through Hormuz Strait, 16 Iranian minelaying ships sunk

The United States military has not yet escorted any commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters quoted the White House as saying on Tuesday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made the statement hours after US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright claimed in a social media post that the country’s Navy had successfully escorted an oil tanker through the waterway. He deleted the post later.

The clarification came amid the West Asia conflict that has disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterbody connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea. About 20% of the global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

Here are more top updates from the conflict in West Asia:

• The US said that it had struck multiple Iranian naval vessels, including 16 minelaying vessels operating near the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. forces eliminated multiple Iranian naval vessels, March 10, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/371unKYiJs— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 10, 2026

• On Tuesday, the US Secretary of Energy claimed in a now-deleted social post that the country’s Navy had escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz “to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets”, Reuters reported. Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump said that the United States will hit Iran “twenty times harder” if...

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