US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former fracking executive, was accused on Tuesday of manipulating global markets after he posted a shocking claim about social media. The US Navy, he wrote, had “successfully conducted a oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the flow of oil”.
The post on X was deleted minutes later as “oil prices fell at their fastest pace in years,” according to Wall Street diary. of The White House press secretary later RECEIVED publicly that Wright’s claim was false, and the Department of Energy—which has been trying to quell the growing fear to a sustained rise in oil prices and wider supply chain chaos stemming from the US-Israeli attack on Iran – threw unidentified personnel under the bus, saying they “mistitled” the post.
“So who just made $100 million shorting oil in the three minutes Chris Wright posted it?” asked hedge fund manager Spencer Hakimian.
Antitrust researcher Matt Stoller has written in response to his post and deletion that “the combination of warmongering and market manipulation by top Trump officials is not entirely without precedent, but the speed and brazenness seem new.”
The debacle also notably drew a reaction from Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who has written in X that “US officials are posting fake news to manipulate the markets.”
“It will not protect them from the inflationary tsunami they have imposed on Americans,” Araghchi wrote. “Markets are facing the biggest shortage in HISTORY: bigger than the Arab Oil Embargo, Iran’s Islamic Revolution and the invasion of Kuwait COMBINED”.
The Strait of Hormuz has become a critical point in the US-Israeli war against Iran, whose military has threatened with attack ships attempting to pass through the streets in retaliation for the deadly missile attack. About 13 million barrels per day passed through the strait in 2025—approx 31% of all crude flows into the sea.
“At the beginning of the war we announced and we announce again, no ship associated with the aggressors against Iran has the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “If in doubt, come forward and find out.”
Reuters reported Tuesday that, contrary to Wright’s now-deleted post, the US Navy has “rejected almost daily requests from the shipping industry for military escort through Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war against Iran, saying that the risk of attacks is very high at the moment.”
of United Kingdom MARINE Trade Operations center said early Wednesday that a cargo ship in the strait was “hit by an unknown projectile,” causing a fire on board and forcing crew members to evacuate.
The report came a few hours later the US military said it “eliminated many Iranian naval vessels,” including “16 mines near the Strait of Hormuz.” The announcement followed, less than two hours, a social network POST from the president Donald Trump stating that “we have no reports” that Iran has laid mines in the strait.
“If for any reason mines are planted and they are not immediately removed, the military consequences for Iran will be at a level never seen before,” Trump wrote. “If, on the other hand, they remove what may have been put in place, it will be a giant step in the right direction!”
After attending a classified briefing on Tuesday, the US senator. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) has written that it was clear the administration had “no plan” regarding the Strait of Hormuz before launching its attack on Iran.
“They don’t know how to open it safely,” Murphy wrote. “Which is inexcusable because this part of the disaster was 100% predictable.”
Originally published by Shared dreamsthis article is republished under the Creative Commons license.
