PDB Afternoon Bulletin | June 16th, 2026: The Secret U.S. Operation That Kept Gulf Oil Flowing & B-52 Disaster

**Mike Baker** (0:00)
Hi, Diva, it's Rachel.

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And Jordan, yeah, hi. Quick question.

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Why are you not spending your Venmo balance?

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Yeah, we're concerned.

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You can like buy stuff with it.

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Ugh, you love buying stuff.

**Mike Baker** (0:09)
And earn cash back on eligible purchases.

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You love purchasing eligible things.

**Mike Baker** (0:14)
So the money your friend sent you yesterday, that's today's ramen or ride share or eye patches.

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The skincare kind, not the pyro kind.

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Spend with Venmo and you can earn cash back with Venmo Stash.

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Venmo Stash bundle terms and exclusions apply.

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Max $100 cash back per month. See terms at venmo.me slash stash terms.

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Need verification required to use a Venmo Balance.

**Mike Baker** (0:42)
It's Tuesday, the 16th of June. Welcome to The PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, for weeks, as Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, the US reportedly turned to an unlikely solution, a shipping network modeled on techniques pioneered by none other than the Iranian regime. Sound confusing? Well, I'll explain how it worked. And why it may have helped minimize a global energy crisis. Later in the show, tragedy at a California air base as a B-52 bomber crashes moments after takeoff, killing all eight crew members on board. I'll have the latest details on the deadly accident and what investigators are now looking at as they search for answers. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. The US and Iran may have signed a memorandum aimed at ending their months-long conflict but that does not mean that everything is suddenly back to normal in the Persian Gulf. While both sides have reportedly pledged to reopen this Strait of Hormuz, obviously one of the world's most important energy choke points, shipping companies and insurers remain wary. Tanker operators say it could take weeks before commercial traffic returns to normal, even if the ceasefire holds. For many in the shipping industry, the risk of missiles or drones or renewed hostilities remains too high.
That lingering uncertainty helps explain a new Reuters investigation published today. According to Reuters, the US has spent the past several weeks overseeing a secretive operation designed to keep Gulf oil flowing despite Iran's effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
And in a twist that few observers would have predicted, the operation reportedly relies on techniques long associated with Iran's own sanctions evasion network. Reuters reports that since early May, at least 92 ships have participated in a system of offshore ship-to-ship oil transfers near the Gulf of Oman. A satellite imagery reviewed by the news agency showed multiple tankers meeting at designated transfer points off the coasts of Oman and the UAE.
Oil would be loaded onto larger vessels waiting outside of the most dangerous waters before continuing on to international markets. Reuters estimates that as much as 90 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products may have moved through the network since the operation began. The details read more like an intelligence operation than a commercial shipping arrangement. According to Reuters, participating ships traveled with their transponders switched off and their lights dimmed. Departures were staggered to reduce exposure. The vessels moved through a series of waypoints while being monitored by drones and helicopters and other surveillance assets.
Once clear of the most dangerous areas, the oil would be transferred to massive very large crude carriers or VLCCs because of course there's an acronym, which would then carry the cargo onward to buyers in Asia and elsewhere.
One particularly notable detail involves that US. Apache helicopter that Iran shot down on the 9th of June. Reuters reports that the aircraft was involved in this broader effort, although the exact nature of its role remains unclear. A US defense official denied that Central Command forces were participating directly in offshore oil transfer operations, but Reuters says multiple sources described extensive American monitoring and coordination throughout the process.
Now, part of what makes this story so interesting is the irony. For years, the US has criticized Iran, Russia, North Korea and others for operating so-called shadow fleets, networks of ships that often travel with tracking systems disabled and conduct offshore transfers in order to avoid sanctions and scrutiny. Now, according to Reuters, Washington appears to have adopted some of those same methods, not to evade sanctions but to work around Iranian regime efforts to destabilize the Strait and also to keep energy supplies moving. As one observer noted to Reuters, the US is effectively borrowing tactics pioneered by the same countries whose shipping practices it spent years condemning.