Trump says US will 'guide' blocked ships through Strait of Hormuz

2026-05-04 07:34:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

President Donald Trump has said the US will help clear ships blocked in the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday.

"For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these countries that we will safely remove their ships from these restricted waterways," he wrote on social media, without specifying which countries would receive assistance.

Trump said any interference in the process, which he called "Project Freedom," would "have to be dealt with forcefully."

Iran has severely restricted traffic through this vital waterway since the war began in February. The US has also implemented a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Senior Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi, a former commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, wrote on social media that "any American intervention" would be "considered a violation of the ceasefire."

In Trump's post, he also said that US representatives were holding "very positive" discussions with Iran and that these talks "could lead to something very positive for everyone."

Trump added that the operation would be a "humanitarian gesture" made on behalf of the US, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries, without naming which countries. He did not provide further details on how cooperation with Tehran would be managed.

"In all cases, they said they would not return until the area was made safe for navigation, and everything else... The movement of the ships is intended simply to free people, companies and countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong," Trump continued.

US Central Command said 15,000 personnel, guided missile destroyers and more than 100 aircraft would be involved in "Project Freedom".

About 20,000 sailors have been stranded in the Persian Gulf since the start of the war with Iran. There have been growing concerns about dwindling supplies and the effects on the physical and mental health of the sailors.

About 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) typically passes through the strait, and the conflict has caused global energy prices to rise sharply.

Late on Sunday, the United Kingdom Maritime Transport Operation (UKMTO) reported that a tanker had been hit by an "unknown projectile" in the strait, adding that the crew were safe.

Trump's announcement came after Iranian state-linked media said Tehran had received a response from the US to his latest peace proposal./CNA, translated by BBC