Trump says Iran fired at South Korean vessel, urges Seoul to join Strait of Hormuz mission

US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has taken shots at a South Korean cargo ship and other targets noting that it is time for Seoul to participate in a mission to reopen the crucial Strait of HormuzTrump made the remarks in a social media post as the United States launched an operation called Project Freedom on Monday local time to guide commercial vessels stranded by the USIsraeli war against Iran out of the waterway a key shipping route for oil fertiliser and other commoditiesIran has taken some shots at unrelated Nations with respect to the Ship Movement PROJECT FREEDOM including a South Korean Cargo Ship Perhaps its time for South Korea to come and join the mission Trump wrote on Truth SocialWeve shot down seven small Boats or as they like to call them fast Boats Its all they have left Other than the South Korean Ship there has been at this moment no damage going through the Strait he addedTrumps comment came after Seouls foreign ministry said that an explosion occurred on a Panamaflagged ship operated by HMM Co a major South Korean shipping firm in the Strait of Hormuz and that the cause of the explosion is under investigation reports Yonhap news agencyThe ship was anchored in waters near the United Arab Emirates within the strait It was carrying 24 crew members on board six South Koreans and 18 foreign nationals No casualties were reportedAmid Irans pushback in the waterway Trump warned in a phone interview with Fox News that Iranian forces would be blown off the face of the Earth should they attempt to target US vessels in the strait But he still struck a positive note for peace talks with Iran claiming Iranian negotiators were far more malleableTrumps renewed call for South Korea to join the mission in the strait added pressure on the Asian country that relies heavily on the waterway for its energy imports The strait is responsible for about a fifth of the worlds oil supplyLast month the US president pointed out that South Korea was not helpful to the US despite America having stationed its troops in harms way in the Asian country which he stressed is located right next to North Koreas nuclear forcesTrump has taken steps against European countries that have shown a lack of support for the Iran war or have not acceded to his calls for naval assistance to secure the Strait of HormuzThe Pentagon has announced a plan to withdraw around 5000 troops from Germany while Trump said last week that he would raise tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25 per cent from 15 per centThe explosion on the Korealinked vessel came as the US kicked off the new operation to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz which Iran has effectively blocked in the midst of the Middle East warDuring a phone news conference US Central Command CENTCOM Commander Adm Brad Cooper said that the US military has destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones as the operation Project Freedom got underway according to ReutersThe rise in tensions darkened the prospects for what appears to be a fragile ceasefire between the US and IranFor the new operation CENTCOM has said that the US would deploy guidedmissile destroyers more than 100 land and seabased aircraft multidomain unmanned platforms and 15000 service membersUnder Project Freedom the US Navy helps commercial ships transit the Strait of Hormuz by advising them on how to avoid mines and being on standby to intervene if Iran launches an attack on them Axios reported The US has no current plan for full naval escorts it added citing US officialsCENTCOM wrote on social media earlier in the day that two USflagged merchant vessels have successfully transited through the strait and are safely headed on their journeyUS Navy guidedmissile destroyers are currently operating in the Arabian Gulf after transiting the Strait of Hormuz in support of Project Freedom CENTCOM wrote on XThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever