US launches ‘Project Freedom’ to escort ships out of Strait of Hormuz amid Iran tensions

The United States will launch an effort on Monday to guide stranded ships from the Irangripped Strait of Hormuz President Donald Trump said giving few details about a sweeping effort to help hundreds of vessels and some 20000 seafarersTrump said in a social media post on Sunday that neutral and innocent countries have been affected by the Iran war and 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 businessProject Freedom would begin on Monday morning in the Middle East Trump said adding that his representatives are having discussions with Iran that could lead to something very positive for all Irans effective closure of the strait imposed after the US and Israel launched the war on Feb 28 has shaken global marketsShips and seafarers many on oil and gas tankers and cargo ships have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war began Crew members have described to The Associated Press watching intercepted drones and missiles explode over the waters and running low on drinking water food and other suppliesMany sailors come from India and other countries in south and southeast Asia They are victims of circumstance Trump wrote and described the effort as a humanitarian gesture on behalf of the United States Middle Eastern Countries but in particular the Country of Iran But he sounded a warning If in any way this Humanitarian process is interfered with that interference will unfortunately have to be dealt with forcefullyTrumps statement was quickly shared by some Iranian outlets which described his announcement as a claim Trump spoke hours after Iran said it was reviewing the US response to its latest proposal to end the war and made clear these are not nuclear negotiations The fragile threeweek ceasefire appears to be holdingA cargo ship is attacked near the straitEarlier Sunday a cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz said it was attacked by multiple small craft the British militarys United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported It was the latest in at least two dozen attacks in and around the strait since the Iran war beganAll crew on the unidentified northbound cargo ship were safe after the attack off Sirik Iran east of the strait the British monitor said Iranian officials have asserted that they control the strait and that ships not affiliated with the United States or Israel can pass if they pay a toll challenging the freedom of navigation guaranteed by international lawIran denied an attack the semiofficial Iranian outlets Fars and Tabnak reported and said a passing ship had been stopped for a documents check as part of monitoring The monitor said it was the first reported attack in the area since April 22 Tehran has effectively closed the strait by attacking and threatening ships and the threat level in the area remains criticalIranian patrol boats some powered only by twin outboard motors are small nimble and hard to detect Trump last month ordered the US military to shoot and kill small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the straitThe British military monitor also said Sunday it had received reports that ships near Ras alKhaimah the northernmost emirate in the United Arab Emirates and close to the strait have received radio warnings to move from anchorages It was not clear who sent the VHF messagesIran reviews US response to its latest proposalTehran is reviewing the US response to its latest proposal to end the war Irans judiciary Mizan news agency cited Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei as sayingBut at this stage we have no nuclear negotiations Baghaei said Irans nuclear program and enriched uranium have long been the central issue in tensions with the US but Tehran would rather address it laterIrans proposal wants other issues resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire according to Irans statelinked media Trump on Saturday said he was reviewing the proposal but expressed doubt it would lead to a dealIrans 14point proposal calls for the US lifting sanctions on Iran ending the US naval blockade of Iranian ports withdrawing forces from the region and ceasing all hostilities including Israels operations in Lebanon according to the semiofficial Nour News and Tasnim agencies which have close ties to Irans security organisationsMediator Pakistans prime minister foreign minister and army chief continue to encourage the US and Iran to speak directly according to two officials in Pakistan who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the mediaIran stands firm on Strait of HormuzTrump has offered a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf where about a fifth of the worlds trade in oil and natural gas typically passes along with fertiliser badly needed by farmers around the worldTehran will not back down from our position on the Strait of Hormuz and it will not return to its prewar conditions Irans deputy parliament speaker Ali Nikzad said Sunday The US has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions for paying Iran in any form including digital assets to transit the strait safelyMeanwhile the US naval blockade since April 13 is depriving Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy The US Central Command on Sunday said 49 commercial ships have been told to turn backWe think that theyve gotten less than USD 13 million in tolls which is a pittance on their previous daily oil revenues US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Sunday He said Irans oil storage is rapidly filling up and theyre going to have to start shutting in wells which we think could be in the next weekThis 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 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