US commander says Hormuz oil and LNG shipments hit six-month high while Iranian exports stay at zero

CENTCOM regional commander Admiral Brad Cooper said Gulf partners have shipped more than one billion barrels of crude through the Strait of Hormuz over the past two months, with crude, cargo and LNG volumes in the last two weeks higher than at any point in six months, even as Iran's own exports through the strait remained at zero under the U.S. blockade. Cooper said the U.S. is working to enhance regional air defense and form a coalition attack-drone unit.

Why this matters. The figures are the U.S. military's own benchmark for whether its mine-clearance and naval escort operations are restoring Gulf shipping flows, directly bearing on global oil supply and freight rates.