I'm not sure if it was just 22 iranian tankers or just 22 Iranian tankers "the other night."
President Trump began by saying "You know why? Because as soon as this war is over, you know, I can say it now. Something you didn’t know. Do you know we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil? Nobody knows it. You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran — until right now."
It may be that 22 tankers accounts for "millions of barrels of oil," or that "the other night" was just one of several covert operations to sneak tankers out.
From AI:
A standard VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) holds roughly 2 million barrels. A smaller Aframax tanker holds around 750,000 barrels. If 22 ships were seized in one night, and that accounts for "millions of barrels," the math is consistent with smaller vessels — but if the broader program accounts for millions of barrels across multiple covert operations, the cumulative supply injection into global markets would be substantially larger and more sustained.
This sustained, covert supply injection — if accurate — would explain something that puzzled analysts: why oil has not stayed above $120 despite a Strait of Hormuz closure that Bloomberg and Wall Street analysts warned could push prices to $200/barrel. A one-time 22-tanker seizure might cause a brief price dip. A sustained covert program of millions of barrels being quietly rerouted would exert persistent downward pressure on prices, which is more consistent with oil sitting at $85 rather than $120+ right now.
-PJ
I don’t think Trump is talking about stealing 22 ship loads of oil FROM Iran. He is talking about slipping 22 NON IRAN oil ships through the Strait without Iran catching them doing that. Also a lot more of that has also been happening is my impression of what he also said/implied? All made possible by Trump’s great war effort destroying all that Iran radar.