President Trump has announced a new U.S. operation, dubbed Project Freedom, to help trapped commercial vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz.
And he warned via a social media post that Iran’s forces would be “blown off the face of the Earth” if they attacked U.S. Navy vessels trying to reopen a safe route for merchant shipping. As per a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) statement, two American-flagged tankers have already sailed through the waterway unmolested.
One CENTCOM post from yesterday (Monday) read: “U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers are currently operating in the Arabian Gulf after transiting the Strait of Hormuz in support of Project Freedom. American forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping.
“As a first step, 2 U.S.-flagged merchant vessels have successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz and are safely headed on their journey.”
And a previous statement said Project Freedom would involve “guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms.”
“Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade,” commented CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper.
Yet precisely how these assets will be deployed to enable merchant ships to transit the strait again has not been explicitly explained; as things stand, hundreds of vessels remain trapped in the Gulf.
Meanwhile Iran described the new developments as a violation of the existing ceasefire. Shortly after the new U.S. operation began, Iran’s navy claimed it had prevented American ships from entering the strait, as reported by Iranian state media. But CENTCOM denied claims that a U.S. warship had been struck by Iranian missiles.
U.S.-allied Gulf nation the United Arab Emirates was struck by a barrage of Iranian missiles and drones yesterday in the wake of the Project Freedom announcement.
And the Iranian parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a social media post on X today: “The security of shipping and energy transit has been jeopardised by the United States and its allies through the violation of the ceasefire and the imposition of a blockade… We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet.”
On X, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) today posted: “In the past 24 hours, the Strait of Hormuz remains fully under Iran’s control and the U.S. “Project Freedom” has failed.”
It cited an HFI Research post stating: “Not a single vessel is even attempting to #test passage through the Strait.”
Iran’s blockade on foreign shipping began soon after the commencement of Operation Epic Fury at the end of February. Hundreds of tankers are stuck in the Persian Gulf, awaiting guarantees of safe passage through the waterway.
The U.S. has been staging a counter-blockade on ships using Iranian ports since April 13. CENTCOM has stated that to date, 50 commercial vessels have been redirected by U.S. forces.
- You can read the latest CENTCOM updates on its X social media feed and IRIB updates on its X feed