{"id":62384,"date":"2026-05-26T16:38:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T20:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/trump-slams-media-victory-narrative-as-oil-tankers-go-dark-in-strait-of-hormuz\/62384\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T16:38:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T20:38:30","slug":"trump-slams-media-victory-narrative-as-oil-tankers-go-dark-in-strait-of-hormuz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/trump-slams-media-victory-narrative-as-oil-tankers-go-dark-in-strait-of-hormuz\/62384\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Slams Media &#8220;Victory&#8221; Narrative as Oil Tankers Go Dark in Strait of Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Brent crude futures jumped 4%<\/strong> following renewed U.S. &quot;self-defense&quot; strikes in the Persian Gulf, as the global supply shortfall reaches <strong>1 billion barrels<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Two super oil tankers (VLCCs)<\/strong> carrying Saudi and Emirati crude successfully transited the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> in &quot;dark mode&quot; to evade detection.<\/li>\n<li><strong>President Trump<\/strong> accused the media of &quot;treasonous&quot; bias, claiming the press would frame even a total Iranian surrender as a &quot;masterful victory&quot; over the U.S.<\/li>\n<li><strong>U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)<\/strong> confirmed overnight strikes against Iranian mine-laying vessels, a move Tehran labeled a &quot;grave violation&quot; of the April ceasefire.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Peace negotiations in Qatar<\/strong> remain active despite the escalation, with Secretary of State <strong>Marco Rubio<\/strong> indicating a deal could still be reached within days.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Trump Mocks Media Coverage Amid Conflict<\/h2>\n<p>President <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> took to <strong>Truth Social<\/strong> on Tuesday to blast the media\u2019s portrayal of the ongoing conflict with Iran. He asserted that even if Tehran were to &quot;surrender&quot; completely, the press would still claim the Islamic Republic had won a <strong>\u201cmasterful and brilliant victory\u201d<\/strong> over the United States.<\/p>\n<p>The President\u2019s comments come as he faces domestic pressure over the terms of a potential peace deal being negotiated in <strong>Qatar<\/strong>. Trump has repeatedly labeled mainstream reporting as <em>\u201cAnti-America Fake News,\u201d<\/em> arguing that the media is rooting for an Iranian win despite the U.S. military\u2019s assessment that <strong>90% of Iran\u2019s naval fleet<\/strong> has been neutralized.<\/p>\n<h2>Tankers Go &quot;Dark&quot; to Move Gulf Crude<\/h2>\n<p>In a high-stakes maritime maneuver, two <strong>Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs)<\/strong> carrying crude from <strong>Saudi Arabia<\/strong> and the <strong>United Arab Emirates<\/strong> crossed the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> today with their <strong>AIS transponders<\/strong> disabled. This &quot;dark mode&quot; tactic is increasingly being used by state-owned firms like <strong>ADNOC<\/strong> to bypass Iranian threats and move critical energy supplies to Asian markets.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> remains the world\u2019s most sensitive energy chokepoint, normally handling <strong>20% of global oil trade<\/strong>. While shipping has slowed to a trickle since the war began in March, these successful transits provide a <em>temporary reprieve<\/em> for global markets facing acute supply shortages.<\/p>\n<h2>Military Escalation and Market Volatility<\/h2>\n<p>The security situation remains precarious after <strong>U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)<\/strong> launched overnight strikes against Iranian boats attempting to emplace naval mines. Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry denounced the action as a <strong>\u201cdefinitive violation\u201d<\/strong> of the fragile ceasefire established on April 8, though they have yet to pull out of mediated talks in <strong>Pakistan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Energy markets reacted sharply to the news, with <strong>Brent crude<\/strong> rising to approximately <strong>$91 per barrel<\/strong>. Major energy firms, including Chevron (<a href=\"\/stock\/CVX\">CVX<\/a>), ExxonMobil (<a href=\"\/stock\/XOM\">XOM<\/a>), and Shell (<a href=\"\/stock\/SHEL\">SHEL<\/a>), are closely monitoring the region as the <strong>International Energy Agency (IEA)<\/strong> warns that global oil inventories are dropping at an <em>unsustainable pace<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2>Diplomatic &quot;Good Deal or No Deal&quot;<\/h2>\n<p>Despite the military exchange, Secretary of State <strong>Marco Rubio<\/strong> stated from India that a memorandum of understanding is still possible. President <strong>Trump<\/strong> has maintained a &quot;good deal or no deal&quot; stance, demanding the <strong>full dismantling<\/strong> of Iran&#39;s nuclear infrastructure and the removal of all enriched uranium.<\/p>\n<p>Market analysts suggest that while a deal would likely cause oil prices to retreat, the <em>geopolitical risk premium<\/em> will remain high until the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> is fully reopened to commercial traffic. For now, the global economy continues to grapple with <strong>$4-per-gallon gasoline<\/strong> and a systemic disruption of the <strong>Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)<\/strong> economic model.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Brent crude futures jumped 4% following renewed U.S. &quot;self-defense&quot; strikes in the Persian Gulf, as the global supply [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[17762,298,17831,804,4180,4251,4824,5551,5745,6337,17484],"class_list":["post-62384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-saudiaramco","tag-cvx","tag-straitofhormuz","tag-xom","tag-trump","tag-shel","tag-geopolitics","tag-iea","tag-oilprices","tag-gcc","tag-energysecurity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}