Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The United States has begun an attempt to “route” stranded ships from Iranian-controlled areas Strait of HormuzAs it tries to confront economic turmoil that has passed the height of the fighting with no peace deal in sight.
A day after the US President Donald Trump The Joint Maritime Information Center announced what it called “Project Freedom” on Monday that the United States had established an “enhanced security zone” south of typical shipping routes, urging sailors to coordinate closely with Omani authorities “due to the expected high traffic volume.” The strait is located between Iranian and Omani lands.
The center warned that traffic near regular roads, known as a traffic separation scheme, “should be considered extremely dangerous due to the presence of mines that have not been fully surveyed and mitigated.”
The announcement of the US-led maritime task force marks the beginning of efforts to revive traffic and restore confidence among commercial ships transiting the strait.
The disruption of the waterway, through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes, has become one of the most lasting consequences of the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28. This war has put pressure on countries in Europe and Asia that depend on Persian Gulf supplies, and has added new volatility to energy prices for households and businesses around the world.
Announcing the ship sponsorship efforts in a social media post on Sunday, Trump promised “neutral and innocent” nations that “we will safely guide their ships out of these restricted waterways, so they can continue their business freely and freely.”
US Central Command said the initiative would include guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft, and 15,000 soldiers. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions about how they were deployed.
Ships and sailors, many on board oil and gas tankers and cargo ships, have been stranded in the Persian Gulf since the war began. Crew members have He described it to the Associated Press Seeing intercepted drones and missiles explode above the waters as their ships run out of drinking water, food and other supplies.
“They are victims of circumstance,” Trump wrote, describing these efforts as a humanitarian gesture “on behalf of the United States and the countries of the Middle East, but in particular, the nation of Iran.”
Trump also issued a warning, saying: “If this humanitarian operation is interfered with in any way, it will unfortunately have to be dealt with forcefully.”
As more ships were reported to have been attacked on Sunday, Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency described Trump’s announcement as part of his “delirium.” Ibrahim Azizi, head of the National Security Committee in the Iranian parliament, said on Channel X that any intervention in the strait would be seen as a violation of the ceasefire.
Trump spoke hours after Iran announced that it was reviewing the American response to its latest proposal to end the war and made it clear that this is not a nuclear negotiation. Fragile Ceasefire for three weeks It seems to hold.
Iranian judicial news agency Mizan quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei as saying on Sunday that Tehran is reviewing the American response to its recent proposal to end the war.
“But at this stage, we do not have nuclear negotiations,” Baghaei said. Iranian nuclear program and Enriched uranium It has long been the central issue in tensions with the United States, but Tehran prefers to address it later.
The Iranian proposal wants other issues to be resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire, according to Iranian state-linked media. Trump said on Saturday that he was reviewing the proposal but expressed doubt that it would lead to an agreement.
The 14-point Iranian proposal calls for the United States to lift sanctions on Iran, end the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdraw troops from the region and stop all hostilities, including Israeli operations in Lebanon, according to the semi-official Nour News Agency and Tasnim, which has close ties to Iranian security organizations.
Iranian officials have vowed that the strait will not return to pre-war conditions and have moved to impose fees on passing ships, but the United States has warned shipping companies that they could face sanctions for paying Iran in any way.
The US naval blockade since April 13 has deprived Tehran of the oil revenues it needs And support its faltering economy. US Central Command said on Sunday that 49 commercial ships had been ordered to return.
“We believe they received less than $1.3 million in fees, which is a pittance compared to their previous daily oil revenues,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent told Fox News on Sunday, adding that Iranian oil storage is filling up quickly and “they will have to start shutting in wells, which we believe could happen next week.”