The US military has said that two Navy guided-missile destroyers have entered the Gulf to break an Iranian blockade and that two US-flagged merchant vessels had transited through the Strait of Hormuz, amid Iranian efforts to block unauthorized traffic.
“US Navy guided-missile destroyers are currently operating in the Arabian Gulf after transiting the Strait of Hormuz in support of Project Freedom,” Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for operations in the region, said online, referring to Donald Trump’s new proposal to help commercial vessels transit the strait.
Iran and most others refer to the sea in question as the Persian Gulf rather than the Arabian Gulf, but it’s a reference to the same marginal sea of the Indian Ocean, according to dw.com.
“American forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping. As a first step, two US-flagged merchant vessels have successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz and are safely headed on their journey,” CENTCOM said.
Iran had previously said it would consider US efforts to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz as a violation of the ceasefire.
Amid the ceasefire, the two militaries had continued to try to restrict maritime traffic, with Iran seeking to control the Strait of Hormuz and the US seeking to blockade Iran’s ports.
The US military’s Central Command, responsible for operations in the Middle East and the Gulf, says that Iranian reports of missiles striking a US warship are not accurate.
“Iranian state media claims that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit a U.S. warship with two missiles,” Centcom wrote online. “No U.S. Navy ships have been struck. U.S. forces are supporting Project Freedom and enforcing the naval blockade on Iranian ports.”
Iranian news agencies including the semiofficial Fars and the Iranian Labour News Agency had reported Iranian strikes on a US vessel southeast of the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast, accusing it of “violating maritime security and navigation norms.”
The contesting claims come amid the launch of “Project Freedom,” a contentious offer by the US Navy to guide certain commercial ships through the Strait, as Iran seeks to halt most ships’ passage through the narrow waterway.
US President Donald Trump announced the plan on Sunday but details of what it might entail have been vague.
Iran responded by calling it a violation of the terms of the fragile ceasefire that has more or less halted kinetic warfare between the two sides, other than the naval wrangling over access to the strait and other waters in the area.
