Washington DC, May 4 -- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday (local time) called the ongoing US-led naval operations a "humanitarian effort" aimed at safeguarding critical global supply chains, including liquified petroleum gas (LPG) vital for daily cooking in India.

Beseent also urged China to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz while accusing Beijing of "funding" Iran through energy purchases.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Bessent said the disruption in Hormuz threatens not just oil flows but essential goods for vulnerable populations worldwide.

"This is a humanitarian effort... it's not only energy that's in there, it's fertiliser, it's food transport, it's LPG for the more than the billion-plus people in India use t...