The White House on Tuesday said that a since-deleted social media post by Energy Secretary Chris Wright claiming that the U.S. Navy had successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz was wrong.

"The U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or vessel at this time," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a news conference, where she was asked about Wright's post on X.

The prices of U.S. crude oil and Brent crude each fell by more than 17% after that erroneous tweet, and stayed far below their earlier prices even after the White House said that Wright had been wrong.

"I was made aware of this post," Leavitt said. "I haven't had a chance to talk to the Energy secretary about it directly."

"However, I know the post was taken down pretty quickly," she said.

Wright had written, "The U.S. Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets."

Leavitt said that the Navy escorting tankers through the strait remains "an option" that President Donald Trump "has said he will absolutely utilize if and when necessary at the appropriate time."

The Strait of Hormuz is the most significant chokepoint for oil shipments in the world.

An Energy Department spokesperson, in a statement later Tuesday, said, "A video clip was deleted from Secretary Wright's official X account after it was determined to be incorrectly captioned by Department of Energy staff."

"President Trump, Secretary Wright, and the rest of the President's energy team are closely monitoring the situation, speaking with industry leaders, and having the U.S. military draw up additional options to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, including the potential for our Navy to escort tankers," the spokesperson said.