Iran pushed back against President Trump’s latest attempt to break the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, threatening to attack American warships and any commercial vessels that sought to transit through the waterway without Iranian permission.
Ali Abdollahi, a top Iranian military commander, warned “all commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any attempt to transit without coordination with the armed forces,” Iranian state media reported.
“We warn that any foreign armed force — especially the aggressive U.S. military — if they intend to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz, will be targeted and attacked,” he added.
Mr. Trump said on Sunday that the United States would assist ships trapped in the waterway because of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran to get out but did not provide details of what that would entail.
The U.S. Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, said in a statement on Sunday that the United States would help coordinate the movement of the stranded ships but did not say that it would escort them.
“U.S. 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,” Centcom said in the statement published on social media.
The president warned that any interference in the program, called “Project Freedom,” would be dealt with “forcefully.”
Iran’s grip over the waterway — through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas is normally shipped — has rattled global energy markets and sent prices of oil and gas skyrocketing worldwide. The United States has retaliated by imposing a naval blockade on shipping into and out of Iranian ports.
The Trump administration has struggled to break the deadlock in talks with Iran to end the war, which began when the United States and Israel launched a airstrikes on Iran in late February. Despite weeks of negotiations — including a high-level meeting between American and Iranian leaders in Pakistan — both sides have set red lines that appear incompatible.
The new U.S. initiative appeared to be an attempt to challenge Iran by forcing it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping or risk a return to full-blown war. If Mr. Trump’s gambit works, it could remove a major source of Iranian leverage in the negotiations. But it is unclear whether commercial ships feel secure enough to risk the voyage.
European countries, including Britain and France, have sought to find ways to ensure ships can freely pass through the Strait of Hormuz after the war ends. Mr. Trump has argued that they ought to help police the waterway immediately, which European leaders fear could draw them into the war.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
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