Iran threatens to attack any U.S. forces in Strait of Hormuz after Trump vows to help escort ships
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Iran warned U.S. forces on Monday not to enter the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump said the United States would “guide out” ships stranded in the Gulf by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Trump gave few details of the plan to aid ships and their crews that have been confined to the vital waterway and are running low on food and other supplies more than two months into the conflict. It was unclear as of Monday morning whether any vessels had accepted the U.S. offer.
Trump in a social media post on Sunday promised that the U.S. would “guide” ships out of the strait, warning that Iranian efforts to block them “will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.”
He described part of what he called “Project Freedom” in humanitarian terms, designed to aid stranded seafarers, many on oil tankers or cargo ships, have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war began. The U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center advised ships to cross the strait in Oman’s waters, saying it had set up an “enhanced security area.”
U.S. Central Command, which for its part is blockading Iranian ports to put pressure on Tehran, said it would support the rescue effort with 15,000 military personnel and more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, plus warships and drones.
“Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade,” Adm. Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, said in a statement.
A screen shows the location of ships in the Strait of Hormuz at the U.K. Maritime Trade Organisation in Portsmouth, England, on April 27. (Andrew Matthews/PA/The Associated Press)
In response, Iran’s unified command told commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any movement that was not cleared with Iran’s military.
“We have repeatedly said the security of the Strait of Hormuz is in our hands and that the safe passage of vessels needs to be co-ordinated with the armed forces,” Ali Abdollahi, head of the forces’ unified command, said in the statement.
“We warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive U.S. army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz.”
Crude oil prices edged higher on Monday and analysts said they were likely to remain above $100 US a barrel with no peace deal in sight and the Strait of Hormuz still largely blocked.
Iran has blocked nearly all shipping into and out of the Gulf apart from its own since the start of the war, cutting off around one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments and sending oil prices soaring by 50 per cent or more and leading to jet fuel shortages.
Significant operational questions
Hundreds of commercial vessels and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been unable to transit the strait during the conflict, the International Maritime Organization says.
Executives from numerous shipping and oil industries have said they need an end to hostilities and some form of peace deal because they do not regard military convoys as a solution that would allow normal traffic to resume and the shipping industry to feel safe.
Some vessels attempting to transit the strait have reported being fired on, and Iran has seized others.
Soon after Trump’s comments on Sunday, the U.K.’s Maritime Trade Operations agency said a tanker had reported being hit by unknown projectiles in the strait. All its crew were reported safe in the incident, which occurred 78 nautical miles north of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates.
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The Trump administration has been seeking help from other countries to form an international coalition to secure shipping in the strait. CENTCOM said the latest effort announced by Trump would combine “diplomatic action with military co-ordination.”
It was not immediately clear which countries the U.S. operation would aid or how the operation would work.
Trump faces domestic pressure to break Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has driven up U.S. gasoline prices, threatening to cause a voter backlash against his Republican Party in midterm congressional elections in November. The war has cost the U.S. an estimated $25 billion thus far, a Pentagon official testified in D.C. last week.
The United States and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, and U.S. and Iranian officials held one round of talks. But attempts to set up further meetings have so far failed.
Iranian state media said on Sunday Washington had conveyed its response to Iran’s 14-point proposal via mediator Pakistan, and that Tehran was now reviewing it.
Asked on Monday about the U.S. response to Tehran’s latest offer, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was “still faced with a side that both changes its views regularly and raises issues that could complicate any diplomatic process.”
Washington wants Tehran to give up its stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, which the United States says could power a bomb.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, although it is willing to discuss some curbs in return for the lifting of sanctions. It had accepted such curbs in a 2015 multilateral deal that Trump abandoned.
Meanwhile, Pakistan said on Monday the U.S. had handed over 22 crew from an Iranian container vessel that American forces had seized last month in what Tehran called a violation of international law.
Pakistan described the U.S. move as a “confidence-building measure” as it looks to broker more ceasefire talks.
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