Iran warns US Navy to stay clear of Hormuz after Trump says US to help stranded ships
Adam Schreck And Tala Ramadan
Updated ,first published
Dubai: The US military said that two guided missile destroyers of the US Navy entered the Gulf to break the Iranian blockade and two US merchant ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran announced that it prevented a US warship from entering the Gulf.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces supported President Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom”, which aims to “guide” commercial ships stranded in the Gulf due to the US-Israeli war against Iran, and imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.
The intervention is seen as increasing the risk of a direct conflict between the United States and Iran in a waterway that usually carries a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil and gas but has been blocked for two months by war.
CENTCOM stated that two US-flagged commercial ships passed through the strait while US destroyers were operating in the Gulf, adding: “American forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping.”
Tehran had previously said it had forced a US warship to turn back from the Strait of Hormuz, but CENTCOM immediately denied a report by Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency that two missiles had hit the ship near the Iranian port of Jask.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran fired warning shots and that it was unclear whether the warship was damaged.
Trump has provided few details about his plan to help hundreds of ships and their crews who have been “locked” in the vital waterway and running low on food and other supplies for more than two months since the conflict began.
“We have told these countries that we will safely remove their ships from these restricted Waterways so they can go about their business freely and competently,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday (Washington time).
“Project Freedom” would begin on Monday morning in the Middle East, he said, adding that his representatives were having discussions with Iran that could lead to something “very positive for all”.
Trump, who has previously downplayed US responsibility for ships stranded in the Gulf, described the operation as a humanitarian gesture but threatened that any intervention would be “dealt with force”.
The unified command of Iran’s armed forces responded by warning US forces to stay away from the strait.
He said he would “react harshly” to any threat, instructing commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any action unless there was coordination with the Iranian military.
“We have repeatedly said that the security of the Strait of Hormuz is in our hands and the safe passage of ships must be coordinated with the armed forces,” Ali Abdullahi, head of the forces’ unified command, said in a statement. he said. “We warn that any foreign armed force, especially the aggressive US military, will be attacked if they approach or consider entering the Strait of Hormuz.”
After the USA and Israel started the war on February 28, Iran’s de facto closure of the strait shook global markets and caused energy prices to rise.
It is not yet clear which countries the US operation will help or how the operation will work.
The Joint Maritime Information Center, a U.S.-led maritime task force, said the United States had established an “enhanced security area” south of typical shipping routes and urged mariners to cooperate closely with Omani authorities “due to the expected high volume of traffic.” The Bosphorus is located between Iran and Oman.
The center warned that “passing near the usual routes should be considered extremely dangerous due to the presence of mines that have not been fully examined and mitigated.”
U.S. Central Command said it would support the effort with 15,000 military personnel and more than 100 land and sea aircraft, as well as warships and unmanned aerial vehicles. But the operation will not necessarily involve U.S. Navy ships escorting merchant ships. axios Reporter Barak Ravid said in a post on X.
The British military’s UK Merchant Marine Operations center said a cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz was attacked by multiple small vessels early Sunday (Washington time), while another ship was hit by “unknown projectiles”. No injuries were reported.
These were the first attacks reported in the region since April 22.
The British observer said the first ship was an unidentified cargo ship heading north near the Iranian city of Sirik in the east of the strait. Iran denied an attack and said a passing ship was stopped to check documents as part of monitoring, semi-official Iranian broadcasters Fars and Tabnak reported.
The second ship was a tanker that was reported to have been hit off the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday night.
Iran has blocked nearly all shipping from the Gulf except its own for more than two months. It was reported that some ships trying to cross the strait were opened fire on, and Iran seized many ships.
Iranian officials have challenged the freedom of navigation guaranteed by international law, claiming that they control the strait and that ships not affiliated with the United States or Israel can pass if they pay a transit fee. Last month, the United States imposed its own blockade of ships arriving from Iranian ports.
Despite an unstable four-week ceasefire, the threat level in the region remains critical.
Trump announced the operation just hours after Iran said it was reviewing its response to the United States’ latest offer to end the war and made clear these were not nuclear negotiations.
Iran’s nuclear program and enriched uranium have long been the main subject of tensions with the United States, but Tehran wants to postpone negotiations on nuclear issues to a later stage.
According to the semi-official Nour News and Tasnim news agencies, which have close ties to Iran’s security organizations, the 14-point proposal calls for the United States to lift sanctions against Iran, end the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdraw its forces from the region and cease all hostilities, including Israel’s operations in Lebanon.
Trump expressed doubts Saturday that the offer would lead to a deal.
Washington wants Tehran to give up its stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, which the United States says could be used to make bombs.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful but is willing to discuss some restrictions in exchange for lifting sanctions. It agreed to such restrictions in a 2015 agreement that Trump abandoned.
Trump, who has reiterated that he is in no rush, faces domestic pressure to break Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, which has blocked 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies and pushed up U.S. oil prices.
Trump’s Republican Party risks voter backlash over high prices in November’s midterm congressional elections.
