WASHINGTON, September 3. /TASS/. The armed forces of European countries are unable to protect merchant ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz from Iran and thereby ensure the stability of the global energy market, which leads to rising fuel prices, US Vice President JD Vance stated.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, he addressed the issue of high gas prices. "I think it drives home, frankly, the ridiculous atrophy that we saw in our European allies and their inability to actually do anything [militarily] to help keep world energy markets supplied," Vance said. The US vice president emphasized that due to Iran’s shelling, "it is obvious that means some ships don't want to go through [the strait]." "A lot of ships have gone through. We got about 15 million barrels [of oil] out of the Strait of Hormuz just yesterday, despite the fact that the Iranians continue to shoot, I should say," he stressed.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright previously stated in an interview with CNBC that on September 1, oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz exceeded 17 million barrels.