The US Navy is not ready to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC in an interview Thursday.
“It’ll happen relatively soon but it can’t happen now,” Wright said.
“We’re simply not ready. All of our military assets right now are focused on destroying Iran’s offensive capabilities and the manufacturing industry that supplies their offensive capabilities.”
Wright said it is likely that the Navy will be in a position to escort tankers by the end of this month. “I’ll be over at the Pentagon later today — that is what the military is working on,” the Energy secretary told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Brent oil prices, the international benchmark, touched 100 dollars per barrel earlier Thursday as attacks on commercial vessels in the Arab Gulf continue this week.
