United States President Donald Trump has said the US will “help free up” ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz from Monday, suggesting that his administration will break Iran’s blockade of the strategic waterway.
Trump said 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”.
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“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 is unclear how the campaign, which Trump described as a humanitarian gesture, will proceed, or whether it will involve coordination with Tehran.
If met with Iranian resistance, the move risks shattering the fragile ceasefire that came into 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.
CENTCOM did not provide details about how it would ensure free passage for vessels in the waterway.
The US military had previously said that it was “not ready” to accompany vessels through the narrow waterway, where it could come under fire from Iranian territory.
‘Is this a negotiating tactic?’
Although the US-Iran truce has held for nearly a month, Tehran’s blockade of the strait and Washington’s naval siege on Iranian ports have sent oil prices soaring.
In the US, petrol has risen to an average of $4.44 per gallon, up from less than $3 before the war started, fuelling inflation.
Energy costs are driving increasing public discontent with the war as Trump’s job approval ratings plummet, according to recent pubic opinion polls.
Trump had previously suggested that he is comfortable with the status quo of the competing blockades in the Gulf, arguing that the US siege was “more effective than bombing”.
However, the move to go against the Iranian blockade could alter the relative calm that had persisted against growing tensions in the past weeks.
Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, said the US effort to escort ships out of the strait would not be seen as a humanitarian mission by Iran.
“This is also going to bring US forces and assets closer to the shooting range of Iran, potentially, if it’s going to be an escort,” Mortazavi told Al Jazeera in a television interview.
“So I don’t know if this is a threat. Is this a negotiating tactic?… Or is this really the plan of the president? I mean, we know, and Tehran has suspected, also, that there would be a potential escalation in one form. I don’t know if this could be it.”
Trump suggested on Sunday that the path to a diplomatic resolution to the crisis remained open.
“I am fully aware that my Representatives are having very positive discussions with the Country of Iran, and that these discussions could lead to something very positive for all,” he said on Truth Social.
“The Ship movement is merely meant to free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong — They are victims of circumstance.”
Trump says Iran’s plan unacceptable
Hours earlier, the US president said he had rejected Tehran’s latest 14-point proposal for ending the US-Israel war on Iran.
“It’s not acceptable to me. I’ve studied it; I’ve studied everything – it’s not acceptable,” Trump told Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster.
While details of the 14-point plan remain unclear, Iranian officials have said that Tehran is focused on permanently ending the war and lifting the blockade against its ports before talks to secure a broader nuclear deal.
Iranian officials said on Sunday that Tehran has received a formal response from Washington to its proposal, and is studying it.
The US president had also signalled earlier that he wants to inflict more damage on Iran before the war concludes.
“I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years,” he wrote on Saturday.
Iran has projected defiance in the face of Trump’s rhetoric, warning that it will defend itself against any attacks. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said it is “fully prepared” to counter any “adventures or foolishness” from Washington.
