Trump says US will ‘guide’ stranded ships through Strait of Hormuz

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.President Trump said Sunday the U.S. would start guiding commercial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz where they have been trapped by the war between the U.S.

and Iran, adding that talks continued with Tehran to find an end to the conflict.“Countries from all over the World…have asked the United States if we could help free up their Ships, which are locked up in the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. “For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, 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.”The new effort, which Trump dubbed “Project Freedom,” is a process through which countries, insurance companies and shipping organizations can coordinate moving traffic through the Strait, according to a senior U.S.

official. It doesn’t currently involve U.S.

Navy warships escorting vessels through the strait, the official said.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has recently deployed naval mines in the strait, posing new dangers for commercial shipping traffic through the waterway, according to the official. Before the conflict, some 20% of the world’s oil supply passed through the strait.If there is interference with the process, that “will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully,” Trump said in his social-media post.The initiative will begin on Monday morning, Middle East time, Trump wrote.He described the move as a “humanitarian gesture” on behalf of the U.S., Middle Eastern countries and, in particular, Iran, without elaborating on what role the Islamic Regime would play.Write to Lara Seligman at [email protected] and