{"id":11539,"date":"2026-07-20T13:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T08:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=11539"},"modified":"2026-07-20T13:00:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T08:00:55","slug":"after-two-us-troops-killed-energy-secretary-wright-says-mission-in-iran-will-continue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=11539","title":{"rendered":"After two US troops killed, Energy Secretary Wright says &#8216;mission&#8217; in Iran will continue"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">After eight consecutive days of <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/International\/live-updates\/iran-live-updates-kuwait-reports-attacks-after-latest\/?id=134704698\" dir=\"ltr\">U.S. strikes on Iran<\/a>, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that the United States&#8217; &#8220;mission will go on&#8221; until President Donald Trump achieves his war goals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;The president&#8217;s mission is essential for peace in the Middle East and peace in the world, and that is to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons, and to degrade their ability to terrorize their neighbors and the world and global commerce. So yes, this mission will go on until the mission is done,&#8221; Wright said in an interview on ABC News&#8217; &#8220;This Week.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The latest round of strikes came Saturday after U.S. Central Command announced that <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/International\/live-updates\/iran-live-updates-kuwait-reports-attacks-after-latest\/?id=134704698&amp;entryId=134878810\" dir=\"ltr\">two American service members were killed<\/a> and one other was missing after an Iranian attack in Jordan.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oLzSq QrHMO fnRUo pvsTF EhJPu vPlOC zNYgW OsTsW RMeqy daRVX ISNQ sKyCY eRftA acPPc MENS nFwaT MCnQE mEeeY SmBjI xegrY rPLsU iulOd NIuqO zzscu lzDCc aHUBM IEgzD OjMNy eQqcx SVqKB GQmdz jaoD VWDdR ONJdw vrZxD OnRTz gbbfF roDbV GPGwb oMlSS gfNzt oJhud eXZcf zhVlX \">\n<div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage GpQCA lZur asrEW \" data-testid=\"prism-inline-image\">\n<figure class=\"kzIjN GNmeK pYrtp dSqFO \" data-testid=\"prism-figure\">\n<div class=\"GpQCA lZur Rnci \" data-testid=\"prism-ratio-frame\">\n<div class=\"FvQLF iLTd NqeUA UzzHi iWsMV \"><picture data-testid=\"prism-picture\"><source media=\"(max-width: 414px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/34d1caa0-b952-4c47-bfa0-2b63ed25ec31\/TW-CHRIS-WRIGHT-20260719-ABC-JH_1784470654800_hpEmbed_16x9.jpeg?w=375, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/34d1caa0-b952-4c47-bfa0-2b63ed25ec31\/TW-CHRIS-WRIGHT-20260719-ABC-JH_1784470654800_hpEmbed_16x9.jpeg?w=750 2x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 415px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/34d1caa0-b952-4c47-bfa0-2b63ed25ec31\/TW-CHRIS-WRIGHT-20260719-ABC-JH_1784470654800_hpEmbed_16x9.jpeg?w=750, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/34d1caa0-b952-4c47-bfa0-2b63ed25ec31\/TW-CHRIS-WRIGHT-20260719-ABC-JH_1784470654800_hpEmbed_16x9.jpeg?w=1500 2x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR SjwtZ hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/34d1caa0-b952-4c47-bfa0-2b63ed25ec31\/TW-CHRIS-WRIGHT-20260719-ABC-JH_1784470654800_hpEmbed_16x9.jpeg\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"nMMea bNYiy Mjgpa dGwha DDmxa jgKNG RGHCC aBIU PriDW aiQHS lZur \" data-testid=\"prism-caption\">\n<p><span class=\"hsDdd OOSI GpQCA lZur VlFaz \" data-testid=\"prism-truncate\"><span><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ \">Energy Secretary Chris Wright appears on ABC News&#8217; &#8220;This Week&#8221; on July 19, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ YNujN JGtjI aZFDu rkKLh \">ABC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;This Week&#8221; co-anchor Jonathan Karl pressed Wright on whether the president planned to retaliate further in response to those deaths.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;It&#8217;s tragic to lose American lives, but this is a mission that will save countless lives going forward,&#8221; Wright said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Since the war started in late February, 16 U.S. troops have been killed, and hundreds have been wounded, according to the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">After reaching a ceasefire in April, both U.S. and Iranian leaders in mid-June signed a preliminary deal to extend that ceasefire by 60 days while negotiations on Iran&#8217;s nuclear program. But that ceasefire has since completely fallen apart, with both sides declaring the memorandum of understanding effectively dead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">When the war began, administration officials, including Wright, said the operation would be weeks long &#8212; not months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In a March 15 interview on &#8220;This Week,&#8221; Wright said, &#8220;I think that this conflict will certainly come to the end in the next few weeks. Could be sooner than that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"oLzSq QrHMO fnRUo pvsTF EhJPu vPlOC zNYgW OsTsW RMeqy daRVX ISNQ sKyCY eRftA acPPc MENS nFwaT MCnQE mEeeY SmBjI xegrY rPLsU iulOd NIuqO zzscu lzDCc aHUBM IEgzD OjMNy eQqcx SVqKB GQmdz jaoD VWDdR ONJdw vrZxD OnRTz gbbfF roDbV GPGwb oMlSS gfNzt oJhud eXZcf zhVlX \">\n<div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage GpQCA lZur asrEW \" data-testid=\"prism-inline-image\">\n<figure class=\"kzIjN GNmeK pYrtp dSqFO \" data-testid=\"prism-figure\">\n<div class=\"GpQCA lZur gIjeL \" data-testid=\"prism-ratio-frame\">\n<div class=\"FvQLF iLTd NqeUA UzzHi iWsMV \"><picture data-testid=\"prism-picture\"><source media=\"(max-width: 414px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/60eb7bee-b599-4643-9227-a68055be3d53\/iran-bridge-20260719-gty-jh_1784467774174_hpMain.jpg?w=375, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/60eb7bee-b599-4643-9227-a68055be3d53\/iran-bridge-20260719-gty-jh_1784467774174_hpMain.jpg?w=750 2x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 415px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/60eb7bee-b599-4643-9227-a68055be3d53\/iran-bridge-20260719-gty-jh_1784467774174_hpMain.jpg?w=750, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/60eb7bee-b599-4643-9227-a68055be3d53\/iran-bridge-20260719-gty-jh_1784467774174_hpMain.jpg?w=1500 2x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"PHOTO: TOPSHOT-IRAN-US-ISRAEL-WAR\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR SjwtZ hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/60eb7bee-b599-4643-9227-a68055be3d53\/iran-bridge-20260719-gty-jh_1784467774174_hpMain.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"nMMea bNYiy Mjgpa dGwha DDmxa jgKNG RGHCC aBIU PriDW aiQHS lZur \" data-testid=\"prism-caption\">\n<p><span class=\"hsDdd OOSI GpQCA lZur VlFaz \" data-testid=\"prism-truncate\"><span><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ \">A heavily damaged bridge which was hit by a U.S. strike is pictured along the road connecting Roudan and Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on July 18, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ YNujN JGtjI aZFDu rkKLh \">Amir Hossein Khorgooei\/ISNA\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;We are now nearly five months into this war. How does it end? When does it end?&#8221; Karl asked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;Well, the plan &#8212; we needed four to six weeks for military actions. They went for five and a half weeks. We did a pause to try to get an agreement with the Iranian people to allow oil to flow without them attacking it. They&#8217;ve proven unwilling to do that. And we&#8217;ve pivoted,&#8221; Wright said. &#8220;Now what we&#8217;re doing is assuring that &#8212; that oil and gas and other products can flow through the Strait of Hormuz, with or without Iranian cooperation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Wright said that oil is continuing to flow through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;The seven-day trailing average right now is just under seven million barrels a day flowing through the waterway and just under seven million barrels a day additional flow through the bypass pipelines. So, we&#8217;re at a little under 14 million barrels a day from the Arabian Gulf region. That&#8217;s two-thirds of preconflict traffic, dramatically up from where we were back in March when I was last on your show,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But data from maritime tracking firms conflicts with Wright&#8217;s statement. On Friday, the <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Kpler\/status\/2078085624439898314\" target=\"_blank\" dir=\"ltr\">firm Kpler said<\/a> that only eight vessels were confirmed to have transited the strait on Thursday, which it said was the lowest level in three weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Wright said that information was wrong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;Almost all the public data I&#8217;ve seen is incorrect,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We count the volume of oil that goes through. The ship numbers are down more dramatically. But, of course, we&#8217;re flowing larger tankers now to keep the world markets as well supplied as we can.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In a separate interview on &#8220;This Week,&#8221; Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner blasted the administration&#8217;s handling of the war.<!-- -->\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">&#8220;I see no path in the short term how the Strait is going to be settled. This war of choice has been a disaster. It has been a disaster militarily. It has been a disaster in terms of how we&#8217;re viewed around the world. It has been a disaster to our friends and allies who have questioned whether we will keep our promises,&#8221; Warner said. &#8220;I&#8217;m anxious if it takes a classic Donald Trump move, declare victory tomorrow and be done. But the continuation of this war at this pace will be a continuing disaster.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After eight consecutive days of U.S. strikes on Iran, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that the United States&#8217; &#8220;mission will go on&#8221; until President Donald Trump achieves his war goals. &#8220;The president&#8217;s mission is essential for peace in the Middle East and peace in the world, and that is to prevent Iran from achieving&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/60eb7bee-b599-4643-9227-a68055be3d53\/iran-bridge-20260719-gty-jh_1784467774174_hpMain_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abc-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}