Initiative dubbed Project Freedom aims to rescue neutral vessels stranded since the start of the war with Iran
The US will guide third-party ships through the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump has said, describing the move as a humanitarian effort to help stranded crews.
An estimated 2,000 vessels have been trapped in and around the strait since Iran closed the waterway to most traffic in response to the US-Israeli bombing campaign launched on February 28. The US has since imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian ports.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said the initiative, dubbed Project Freedom and set to begin on Monday, is aimed at helping countries that are “neutral and innocent bystanders” in the conflict.
“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 wrote.
“The ship movement is merely meant to free up people, companies, and countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong – they are victims of circumstance,” he added.
The Wall Street Journal, citing a senior US official, described the initiative as a process through which countries, insurance companies, and shipping organizations can coordinate traffic through Hormuz. The official said it would not involve US warships escorting vessels.
Axios, also citing US officials, said US Navy ships would be “in the vicinity” in case they need to prevent Iran from attacking commercial vessels crossing the strait. The official added that the Navy would provide merchant ships with information about lanes that had not been mined by Iran.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, dismissed Trump’s “delusional posts,” saying that any intervention in the strait would constitute a violation of the ceasefire.
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