The United States Navy has launched a military operation dubbed “Project Freedom” to ensure safe passage for commercial vessels through the blocked Strait of Hormuz, a spokesperson for the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.
The Strait of Hormuz has been at the center of the US-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28, triggering disruptions that have pushed up commodity prices worldwide. Iran has effectively sealed off the strait by threatening to deploy mines, drones, missiles and fast-attack craft, while the US has countered by blockading Iranian ports and mounting escorted transits for commercial vessels.
The US military spokesperson said ship owners and insurance companies have responded positively to the operation, which has “just begun” and aims to ensure commercial ships can pass through the strait safely to benefit global and regional economies.
Later on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a news conference in Washington, DC, that 10 civilian sailors have died due to the ongoing conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the US Navy has destroyed seven Iranian fast boats in the waterway. Rubio said the US will continue to clear a passageway through the strait to restore freedom of navigation.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation aims to reopen the strait and allow the passage of thousands of stranded commercial vessels. He described “Project Freedom” as defensive in nature, focused in scope, temporary in duration, with the sole mission of protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression. Hegseth claimed US forces would not enter Iranian waters or airspace, but insisted Iran can no longer be allowed to prevent international commerce.
Hegseth alleged that two US commercial vessels, along with US warships, have already traversed the strait. Iran denied any crossings, though shipping company Maersk confirmed the Alliance Fairfax, a US-flagged ship, exited the Gulf under US military escort on Monday.
Several merchant ships in the Gulf reported explosions or fires on Monday, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) claimed to have come under an Iranian attack targeting an oil port. On Tuesday, Iran’s army denied any attack on the UAE, but did confirm firing warning shots at a US warship approaching the strait, forcing it to turn back.
Military and diplomatic analyst Alexandru Hudisteanu told Al Jazeera that the US operation to force open the Strait of Hormuz considerably increased the risk of miscalculation from both sides, especially Iran. He said by pushing two ships through the strait, the US “trapped Iran in an escalation situation”.
After issuing a new map of the Strait of Hormuz with an expanded Iranian area of control, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned vessels on Tuesday to stick to the corridors it had set or face a “decisive response”.
US President Donald Trump claimed Iran’s military had been reduced to firing “peashooters” and Tehran wants peace, despite public sabre-rattling. “They play games, but let me just tell you, they want to make a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
On Tuesday, Air Force General Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more than 1,500 vessels with about 22,500 crew are trapped inside the Gulf, but that Iranian attacks against US forces fell “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point”. When asked what Iran would need to do to violate the ceasefire, Trump said: “They know what not to do.”
Source: www.aljazeera.com