Iran exports more oil through key waterway as US admits it cannot escort tankers

Iran is reportedly exporting more oil through a key waterway in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz, than it did before the U.S. strikes began.

On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran was "conducting business as usual" in the waterway, which gives the embattled country a financial lifeline from Chinese buyers.

"Over the past six days, tankers have loaded a daily average of 2.1 million barrels of Iranian oil, higher than the 2 million barrels a day Iran exported in February, according to Kpler," the Journal said.

And although President Donald Trump has promised safe passage to the world's oil traffic, the U.S. has yet to escort a single vessel through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters found.

"The U.S. Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, according to sources familiar with the matter," the outlet reported on Wednesday afternoon.

"When the time comes, the U.S. Navy and its partners will escort tankers through the strait, if needed. I hope it's not going to be needed, but if it's needed, we'll escort them right through," Trump vowed earlier this week.

However, officials said that not a single vessel had been escorted yet.

"There are not enough naval vessels to do that and the risks remain high even with an escort. One or two vessels can be overwhelmed by a swarm (of fast boats or drones)," a source told Reuters.

On Thursday, Trump claimed that the U.S. destroyed 10 of Iran's mine-laying vessels near the strait.