RoydadNaft –  The commander of U.S. Central Command said Saturday that the United States has facilitated the shipment of “one billion barrels” of crude in recent months, even as Washington continues to draw on its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to cover a global oil shortfall.

According to Roydad Naft, citing Fars News Agency, Adm. Brad Cooper again claimed that shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz have been cleared of mines.

In a video message, Cooper said: “CENTCOM forces have supported the movement of more than one billion barrels of crude out of the Persian Gulf. That is one billion barrels of crude through the Strait of Hormuz in the past few months. We reached this important milestone by providing coordinated protection while helping more than 2,000 commercial vessel transits through the strait.”

The claim comes even as, if taken at face value, that volume is far below the amount of crude that moved through the Strait of Hormuz before the military attack on Iran began.

Cooper also said the main transit routes in the strait have been cleared of mines, even though several ship-mine strikes in the waterway have been reported in recent days.

The CENTCOM commander further claimed that a U.S. naval blockade of Iran has cut the country’s crude exports to zero.

Published figures, however, show Iran’s oil sales in September 2026 exceeded $3 billion — the highest monthly total in the past two years.

Cooper added: “We are also working with every partner in the region, strengthening their air defenses, standing up a new coalition strike-drone unit, and keeping the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters open and clear.”

That statement comes after Bloomberg, citing informed sources, reported that Washington has told allies it will delay missile and air-defense deliveries for up to five years in order to replace munitions used in the war with Iran.