Shipping volumes for oil and liquefied natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz have climbed to a six-month high over the past two weeks, according to U.S. Central Command chief General Brad Cooper, signaling that maritime protection and mine-clearing operations are showing results. In a video address on Saturday, Cooper stated that "the situation has clearly improved" and noted that the main transit channels through the strait have been cleared of mines, with Persian Gulf allies having moved more than one billion barrels of crude through the waterway in recent months.

These remarks come amid tightening global supplies of crude and refined products since the summer, partly triggered by drone strikes linked to the war with Iran that knocked out a Saudi pipeline capable of bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. While Iran has declared the strait blocked, regional negotiations over transit routes have stalled. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, issued two air-raid alerts for Riyadh in the early hours of Saturday, marking the first such warnings for the capital since the peak of the U.S.-Iran conflict in March and April. The Saudi civil defense authority said both threats were quickly neutralized.

With the Trump administration under pressure from surging gasoline and diesel prices in an election year, officials have frequently cited tanker transit data from the strait in recent weeks. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated on September 13 that the market continues to depend on Hormuz traffic, estimating that 10 million barrels of crude and refined products move through the route daily. He described the current oil market as "tighter than we would like, but not yet in a state of severe shortage." Cooper said the U.S., alongside Persian Gulf allies, insurers, and shipping firms, is working to steadily boost the strait's throughput capacity. "These efforts are paying off," he said. "Over the past two weeks, the volume of crude, cargo, and liquefied natural gas movements has been the highest in six months."

At the same time, Iranian crude exports have effectively dropped to zero amid the U.S.-led blockade of the strait. In September, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen resumed attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting towns and energy facilities in the west of the kingdom. The Saudi government has attributed the drone strike that shut down the east-west oil pipeline to Iraq, where several pro-Iranian militia groups operate. Over the past month, the Houthis have launched near-daily strikes on Saudi territory, and a Thursday attack on Taif killed one person and wounded several others. The group has also claimed to be intercepting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea and has struck multiple ships in those waters, which have become a critical export route for Saudi Arabia since the Iran conflict disrupted Hormuz shipping.