The United States leads the effort to suppress the spike in oil prices: Officially releases 172 million barrels of oil in response to the IEA's release plan.

Less than two weeks before the outbreak of the war in Iran, the Trump administration plans to release 172 million barrels of oil from the US emergency oil reserves as part of coordinated efforts by countries around the world to mitigate the skyrocketing prices of crude oil and fuels. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced on Wednesday evening that the oil release plan will take about 120 days and will be released entirely from the Department of Energy's strategic oil reserves. This is part of a plan by International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries to release a total of 400 million barrels of oil reserves globally. Wright told the media, "This is to maintain global normal operations while Iran restricts these transportation flows, but ultimately the US military will prevail. Hopefully, over the next few weeks, we will see normal traffic restored in the Strait of Hormuz. Since the US and Israel launched military actions against Iran on February 28, prices of crude oil, gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel have risen significantly. This war has almost paralyzed shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, where about one-fifth of the world's oil is transported. On Thursday morning, due to attacks on two oil tankers, Iraq halted operations at its oil ports, and Brent crude prices rose to nearly $100 per barrel. Following a series of releases from the Biden administration's strategic oil reserves, the US strategic oil reserves currently hold about 415 million barrels, about 60% of its total capacity. These measures include a record release of 180 million barrels of oil to help lower gasoline prices after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2022. This decision was criticized by President Trump and other Republicans. At the time, Trump called it an irresponsible "futile attempt to lower oil and gasoline prices." Now back in office, Trump faces immense political pressure to address the sudden rise in fuel prices. The midterm elections in November will determine control of both houses of the US Congress, and the election results will largely depend on the American people's attitudes toward the cost of living. Polls show that the public is not optimistic about the president's economic policies. After returning from his trip to Ohio and Kentucky on Wednesday evening, Trump told reporters, "We will complete this work as soon as possible, and then we will fill it. We will fill our reserves." Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that Trump "is doing what I called for three days ago, although he unnecessarily created more chaos and uncertainty before. But he has created many more problems than this can solve from the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to his ill-planned, reckless war." In his statement, Wright said the US has arranged to replenish approximately 200 million barrels of oil reserves over the next year at no cost to taxpayers. The minister has previously said that the US government is considering agreements with private companies to replenish reserves, which apparently refers to using so-called in-kind payments for royalty in exchange for oil and natural gas provided by producers, instead of cash royalty for federal energy resources. US Secretary of the Interior, Doug Brouillette, who chairs the White House National Energy Dominance committee, told the media on Wednesday that the government has been in talks with energy companies planning to increase domestic oil production. ClearView Energy Partners said in a report on Wednesday that the broader 400 million barrel oil release "formally acknowledges that the Hormuz crisis is severe enough to prompt the industrialized world to tap into a third of its oil insurance." The consulting firm added, "It is currently far from clear when the strait will reopen; mines and anti-ship weapons still pose significant threats." According to data on the US Department of Energy website, the oil reserves are located in large salt mines along the Gulf of Mexico coast and were built in the 1970s following the Arab oil embargo, with a theoretical maximum capacity of about 713 million barrels and the ability to release about 4.4 million barrels of oil per day. After the US president orders the sale, it takes 13 days for the oil to flow into the open market from this system. However, a 2016 analysis report by the department indicated that the actual amount of crude oil the reserves can release may be limited to between 1.4 and 2.1 million barrels per day. According to ClearView's analysis of US government data, the daily release of oil during the 2022 release process has never exceeded 1.1 million barrels. Oil traders are also skeptical. Even if the maximum reduction rate of the US strategic oil reserves is combined with the oil transportation volumes of other IEA member countries, it may only partially offset the estimated 11 to 16 million barrels of oil supply lost daily from the Persian Gulf, as estimated by Citi.