US Begins Operations to Facilitate Safe Passage of Ships Through Strait of Hormuz Amid Tensions with Iran

Mon, 04 May 2026 11:42:00 +0200

The United States has announced that it will begin guiding merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil and gas trade, amid ongoing tensions with Iran. The US stresses that this initiative, called Project Freedom, is not an escort mission but aims to ensure safe passage for commercial vessels stranded due to the conflict. CENTCOM has stated that the operation will involve guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and roughly 15,000 service members. Iran has strongly warned that any foreign military presence in the strait will be met with force, viewing the US actions as a potential violation of the ceasefire. Separately, an Iranian vessel previously seized by US forces, the M/V Touska, has been returned, with its crew repatriated through Pakistan in a move described as a confidence-building measure. The situation has left approximately 20,000 seafarers stranded, with shortages of food, wa