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Wright on Fox News Sunday: 67 Ships Transited Hormuz Yesterday as U.S. Escorts Hold a Southern Channel

June 21, 2026 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:04:39

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What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, asked on Fox News Sunday about President Trump’s reported warning to Iran over closing the Strait of Hormuz, said that in the last 24 hours 67 ships went through the strait and 55 the day before, which in oil and oil-products terms is about equal to where traffic was before the conflict, according to Wright.

Wright said that flow exists because of a U.S. military presence: Iran has still not de-mined the central shipping channel, but the United States opened a separate channel to the south and has been escorting ships through it for several weeks at very high levels, according to Wright.

Asked how commercial vessels can be convinced they are safe while the IRGC warns they will not be secure, Wright said Iran is still trying to hold the world economy hostage and is showing what kind of citizen it is in the world — which, he said, is why the United States entered the conflict, to reduce Iran’s ability to spread havoc and ultimately to destroy its nuclear program, according to Wright. He said the United States can maintain traffic through Hormuz with or without Iran, while conceding the situation is not over and some shippers were concerned, according to the interview.

Why it matters

The interview puts dated, checkable shipping counts on the administration’s Hormuz claim — that escorted transit has restored oil flows to roughly pre-conflict levels despite an un-cleared central channel.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream - June 21, 2026”, 2026-06-21 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-06-21). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.