Chevron CEO Mike Wirth reportedly predicted that U.S. Navy escorts through the Strait of Hormuz would be “very likely” once more commercial vessels pass through the strategic waterway.
When asked what he would like to see to feel confident to send a ship through the Strait, Wirth reportedly told CBS News, “We’d have to believe that our people on the ship will be safe, the cargo will be safe, and they can be transited with a high degree of confidence.”
“I think in the early days, it’s very likely that you could see naval escorts, because I think some of the risks are not just mines that could be placed in the strait, but they could be also risks that could come from the land in other forms,” Wirth told CBS News.
“So I think having the Navy with those ships that make the first transit would provide a higher degree of confidence than if there were to be something [that] happened, that you’d have some measure of defense,” he added.
At the Pentagon on Friday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned that the U.S. military “will shoot to destroy” any Iranian boats that are laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
“President Trump has authorized the United States Navy to destroy any Iranian fast boats that attempt to put mines in the water or disrupt passage through the Strait of Hormuz, to shoot and kill,” Hegseth said. “Our commanders have clear rules of engagement. If Iran is putting mines in the water or otherwise threatening American commercial shipping or American forces, we will shoot to destroy. No hesitation. Just like the drug boats in the Caribbean.”
Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon that transit is occurring in the Strait of Hormuz but it’s “much more limited than anybody would like to see and with more risk than people would like to see.”
“But that’s because Iran is doing irresponsible things with small, fast boats, crafts, like I said, with weapons on them,” he said. “These are commercial ships. In some cases cruise ships, cruise ships that came through, being threatened by these.”