Over 100 commercial ships pass through Strait of Hormuz in two days — US official

NEW YORK, June 21. /TASS/. More than 100 commercial vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the past two days, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

"Well, 55 ships [passed through the Strait of Hormuz] two days ago, 67 went through yesterday," he told ABC News, adding that as for oil and oil products, their volumes are "about equal to where we were before the war."

He refused from anticipating when gasoline prices in the United States will go down but suggested that this will happen regardless of the US-Iran talks. "Flows of oil and natural gas through the straits have already returned to normal, and they will continue that way whatever happens with the negotiations with the Iranians," he said. "We've got growing American production, surging production in Venezuela. We've got cooperation with all the other energy producers of the world. So, I think Americans can expect continued declines in energy prices."

The Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters of the Iranian armed forces said on June 20 that Tehran was closing the Strait of Hormuz amid Israel’s ongoing aggression against Lebanon in violation of the memorandum, signed with the United States. On June 21, the Iranian Tasnim news agency said, citing a source, that Tehran will not open the Strait of Hormuz until a ceasefire is established in Lebanon and restrictions on the sale of Iranian oil are lifted.