00:00General Reed, as you're fully
00:02aware, the straits of Hormuz is a
00:04strategic choke point in the
00:06Middle East with nearly one-fifth
00:09of the global petroleum and
00:10three-and-a-half trillion cubic
00:12feet of liquefied natural gas
00:14annually transits the straits.
00:17The straits closure that we're
00:19seeing right now has left about
00:221,000 vessels stuck in the
00:24Persian Gulf.
00:25Two tankers were set ablaze just
00:28this morning, and even before
00:31these attacks, the uncertainty
00:33have caused gas prices to
00:35skyrocket, oil trading up to
00:37$120 a barrel this weekend and
00:40still at elevated levels and
00:42likely to continue to go up.
00:44In fact, according to the
00:45International Energy Agency, the
00:47war has caused, and this is
00:49quote from them, the largest
00:51supply disruption in the
00:53history of the global oil
00:56market.
00:56That's a big statement in the
00:58history of the global market.
01:00Additionally, 30 percent of the
01:01world's fertilizer supply passes
01:04through the straits.
01:05This increases prices for
01:06American farmers as they're
01:08beginning planting season.
01:09This will mean food prices will
01:11also go up dramatically across
01:13the world.
01:15We have felt the impacts of the
01:17straits closure here, surely in
01:19prices and many goods, but we
01:21also can't forget the impacts of
01:23our service members who rely on
01:25being resupplied.
01:26So, a question for you, sir, is
01:28are you in talks with the CENTCOM
01:30commander, Admiral Cooper, on
01:32having actual plans to open up
01:35the strait to commercial
01:36traffic and also to ease a
01:39service member resupply in the
01:41region?
01:43We are working with Admiral Cooper as
01:47he continues to prosecute the
01:50operations that he has.
01:52In the war fighting sense, we are
01:55doing all that we can to help
01:57him get after the targets that he
02:00needs to actually suppress the
02:03threats on the straits.
02:05There is intense concentration to
02:09make sure that we can reduce that
02:10enough to get to a point where we
02:13can get through the straits.
02:14When it comes to the sustainment for
02:16the forces, the strait is not the
02:19only way that we're restricted to
02:21in order to resupply force
02:24sustainment.
02:25We have alternatives for that and
02:27we're currently executing that as
02:30we speak.
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