U.S. Central Command said early on Monday that it would begin supporting \u201cProject Freedom\u201d to ensure the free flow of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global trade route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The operation, directed by U.S. President Donald Trump, aims to safeguard merchant vessels transiting the strait, through which U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) noted that roughly a quarter of the world\u2019s seaborne oil and significant volumes of fuel and fertilizer pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CENTCOM said the mission will include guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft, unmanned systems and about 15,000 personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nU.S. will guide neutral ships out of Strait of Hormuz in humanitarian move, warns any interference will be met with force.<\/strong> (Donald Trump)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade,\u201d said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump said late on Sunday that countries whose ships are stuck in the strait have asked Washington to help them leave the restricted waterway, even though they are not involved in the ongoing Middle East conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States has agreed to use its \u201cbest efforts\u201d to guide those commercial vessels and their crews to safety as part of a new initiative he called Project Freedom, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor 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. Again, these are Ships from areas of the World that are not in any way involved with that which is currently taking place in the Middle East. I have told my Representatives to inform them that we will use best efforts to get their Ships and Crews safely out of the Strait. In all cases, they said they will not be returning until the area becomes safe for navigation, and everything else,\u201d Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump described the operation as a humanitarian gesture toward neutral countries and Iran, saying many vessels are running low on food and other necessities and will not return to the area until it is safe for navigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that U.S. representatives are having \u201cvery positive\u201d talks with Iran that he believes could lead to broader progress, and warned that any interference with the ship movements \u201cwill, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deployment follows a State Department initiative, launched with the Defense Department, to boost coordination with international partners through a framework known as the Maritime Freedom Construct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CENTCOM\u2019s announcement comes amid tensions between the Iranian regime and the United States over the critical waterway, with an Iranian\u00a0blockade\u00a0of Hormuz resulting in a retaliatory U.S. blockade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that the U.S. must scale back its demands on the Islamic Republic, warning that Washington \u201ccannot use the language of threats and force against the Iranian nation.\u201d He said \u201cour priority is to end the war,\u201d urged the \u201cother side\u201d to abandon \u201cexcessive demands,\u201d and reiterated Tehran\u2019s claim that it is the \u201cguardian and protector\u201d of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He asserted in a briefing broadcast by state television and quoted by AFP<\/em> that the strait was \u201csecure and safe route\u201d for global shipping before the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe international community must hold the United States and the Zionist regime accountable for imposing insecurity on this waterway and for creating problems that are being felt across the world,\u201d he added, referring to the State of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iranian state media on Sunday quoted Islamic Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohabi as saying that \u201cin the unequal battle we are facing, Iran\u2019s armed forces will be the final victors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n