President Donald Trump says the U.S. has been busy in the Middle East, and not in a subtle way. On Wednesday, the administration's official Rapid Response account on X shared a video of Trump speaking to reporters on his way to the GOP midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, where he laid out the scoreboard.
"We've knocked out nine of their ships; I would say that the attacks are caused by us," Trump said. He didn't stop there. "You're going to see a lot more," he added, before reiterating that the U.S. had "taken out" nine Iranian tankers. "Many of them are gone-zo," Trump said.
Nine Oil Tankers Struck
The comments come as tensions between Washington and Tehran keep escalating. The strikes on Iranian oil tankers are part of that back-and-forth, and Trump's remarks suggest the administration isn't looking to de-escalate anytime soon.
Chris Wright Slams Joe Biden's Refinery Drawdown
Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, facing record-high gas prices and an oil spike, took aim at the former President Joe Biden administration for drawing down U.S. refineries. "The bigger problem is refining capacity," Wright said. "Under the Biden administration, they closed over a dozen refineries" in America.
He didn't spare Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) either. "Gavin Newsom has closed two more large ones in the last 12 months in California," Wright said. The Energy Secretary said the U.S. is now expanding its refining capacity and predicted relief at the pump. "I think we'll see gasoline prices go down in the coming weeks," Wright added.
Iran War
Trump had earlier said he expected the Iran war to end right after the midterm election, after the U.S. and Iran exchanged missile strikes. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed attacks on U.S. vessels, while CENTCOM says Iranian attacks on U.S. warships have failed to hit them.
Not everyone is buying the optimistic timeline. Economist Peter Schiff called Trump's promise to end the Iran war after the midterm election a lie, and he also questioned Trump's claims about declining oil prices. Schiff has warned about the declining U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), saying that oil prices could be impacted by the depleting reserve.
