ISTANBUL
The US has an insurance plan ready for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and is awaiting a military assessment before deploying naval escorts, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday.
"We're ready on the insurance front; that's ready to go," Duffy told Fox News regarding federal insurance for ships in the strait.
On the escort deployment, Duffy said the decision is pending an analysis by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine. "Could be a day, could be a week," he said.
Duffy claimed that partner countries would also be involved in the escort effort, and it would be put in place once there is sufficient clarity on security risks.
"When those escorts and the insurance come together, you're going to start seeing oil flow," he added.
The strait has been effectively closed since early March amid Iranian retaliatory strikes against the US-Israeli strikes that began Feb. 28. Disruptions to shipping have pushed global oil and fertilizer prices sharply higher.
US President Donald Trump said Saturday that countries receiving oil through the waterway should take responsibility for its security and that the US would assist. He had previously said naval escorts could begin "soon."
The US-Israeli strikes have reportedly killed around 1,200 people, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Fourteen US service members have died since the beginning of the campaign.