President Donald Trump said the U.S. will start guiding ships from foreign countries through the Strait of Hormuz from Monday and warned that if Iran tries to disrupt the process, the American military will use force.
Trump announced on Sunday that he was launching the campaign – dubbed Project Freedom – at the request of countries whose vessels are stranded in the strait, whom he referred to as “neutral and innocent bystanders”.
“For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, without specifying which countries called for Washington’s help.
“Many of these Ships are running low on food, and everything else necessary for largescale crews to stay on board in a healthy and sanitary manner,” Trump said, adding that any interference in the operation would “unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully”.
It remains uncertain how the initiative described by Trump as a humanitarian effort will unfold, or whether it will be carried out in coordination with Tehran.
Should Iran oppose the plan, it could jeopardise the fragile ceasefire that took effect on April 7.
Following Trump’s announcement, Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, warned that any “American interference” in the strait would be considered a breach of the truce.
“The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf would not be managed by Trump’s delusional posts! No one would believe Blame Game scenarios!” Azizi said in a post on X.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that it would begin supporting merchant vessels “seeking to freely transit” the strait from Monday.
“Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade,” CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said.