After days of strikes, Energy Secretary Wright says ‘mission’ in Iran will continue

After eight days in a row USA attacked IranEnergy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that the United States’ “mission will continue” until President Donald Trump achieves his war goals.

“The president’s mission is essential to peace in the Middle East and peace in the world, and that is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and weaken their ability to terrorize their neighbors, the world and global trade. So yes, that mission will continue until it is accomplished,” Wright said in an interview on ABC News’ “This Week.”

The latest round of attacks came Saturday after U.S. Central Command announced: two American soldiers were killed and another was missing after Iran’s attack in Jordan.

“This Week” co-host Jonathan Karl pressed Wright on whether the president plans to take further retaliation in response to these deaths.

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“It is tragic to lose American lives, but this is a mission that will save countless lives in the future,” Wright said.

According to the Department of Defense, 16 US soldiers have been killed and hundreds more injured since the war began in late February.

After a ceasefire was reached in April, both U.S. and Iranian leaders signed a preliminary agreement in mid-June to extend the ceasefire for 60 days while negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program continued. However, this ceasefire broke down completely, with both sides declaring the memorandum of understanding effectively dead.

When the war began, administration officials, including Wright, said the operation would last weeks, not months.

In an interview on “This Week” on March 15, Wright said, “I think this conflict will definitely be over in the next few weeks. It could be sooner than that.”

“We are almost five months into this war. How will it end? When will it end?” he asked.

“We needed four to six weeks for military actions. They took five and a half weeks. We paused to try to reach an agreement with the Iranian people that would allow the oil to flow without them attacking. They proved unwilling to do so, so we changed course,” Wright said. “What we’re doing now is ensuring that oil, gas and other products can pass through the Strait of Hormuz, with or without Iranian cooperation.”

Revolutionary Guards claimed to have captured 4 ships in the Strait of Hormuz

Oil continues to flow through the Strait of Hormuz, Wright said.

“The seven-day average right now is just under seven million barrels per day flowing through the waterway, and the additional flow through the bypass pipelines is just under seven million barrels per day. So, we’re at just under 14 million barrels per day from the Persian Gulf region. That’s two-thirds of the pre-conflict traffic, a dramatic increase from our level in March, when I was last on your show,” he said.

However, data from marine tracking companies contradicts Wright’s statement. on friday, Kpler company said It was confirmed that only eight ships passed through the strait on Thursday, and this was the lowest level in three weeks.

Wright said this information was incorrect.

“Almost all of the public data I’ve seen is wrong,” he said. “We are counting the volume of oil coming through. Ship numbers have decreased more dramatically. But of course, we are now flowing in larger tankers to keep world markets as well supplied as we can.”

In a separate interview on “This Week,” Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner criticized the administration’s handling of the war.

“I don’t see a way to resolve the Strait in the short term. This war of choice has been a disaster. It has been a disaster militarily. It has been a disaster in terms of how we are viewed around the world. It has been a disaster for our friends and allies who question whether we can keep our promises,” Warner said. he said. “I worry about whether it will take a classic Donald Trump move, declare victory tomorrow and be done with it. But continuing this war at this rate will be a continuing disaster.”