US to start escorting stranded ship through Hormuz as positive discussions continue

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said the US Navy will start guiding foreign stranded ships to safety through the Strait of Hormuz from Monday and warned Iran that any interference in the process would be dealt with forcefully.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said ‘Project Freedom’ was aimed at helping foreign ships that are locked up in the Strait of Hormuz as "innocent bystanders" and in no way involved in the developments in West Asia.

Trump said several of these ships were running low on food, drinking water and everything else necessary for large-scale crews to stay onboard in a healthy and sanitary manner.

At the same time, the US President said that his representatives were having positive discussions with Iran, which could lead to something "positive for all".

"The mission, directed by the President, will support merchant vessels seeking to freely transit through the essential international trade corridor. A quarter of the world’s oil trade at sea and significant volumes of fuel and fertilizer products are transported through the strait," the US Central Command said in a statement.

"Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade," said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander.

US military support to Project Freedom will include guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members.

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea route between Oman and Iran that transports one-fifth of the global oil supplies, has been effectively closed since February 28, when the US and Israel launched the war with Iran.

The US has also imposed an economic blockade targeted at Iran by denying any ships to transit to and from ports of the Persian gulf nation.

"The Ships movement is merely meant to free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong — They are victims of circumstance. This is a Humanitarian gesture on behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern Countries but, in particular, the Country of Iran," Trump said.

"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," he said.

"If, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully," Trump said.

Axios reported that the US sent another amended draft on Sunday for an agreement to end the war in response to Iranian officials' latest proposal.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN that the US was in conversation with Iran to end the war.

The global oil markets have been in turmoil since the war broke out, as crude prices have been ruling high and briefly touched USD 126 per barrel last week.

The US President is also facing pressure from the high gas prices that have shot up to USD 4.45 per gallon in the US, an increase of nearly 50 per cent since the war began on February 28.

The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, fell less than a per cent on Sunday evening to about USD 107 a barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, also dipped less than 1 per cent, trading at roughly USD 101 a barrel.