Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 1, 2026. REUTERS\/Stringer\/File Photo<\/p>\n
U.S. Secures First US-Flagged Ships Through Hormuz as Iran Warns of Attack<\/p>\n
DUBAI\/WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The U.S. military said two U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers had entered the Gulf to break an Iranian blockade and that two U.S. merchant ships had transited the<\/p>\n
, after Iran said it had prevented a U.S. warship entering the Gulf.<\/p>\n
U.S. Central Command said its forces were supporting President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cProject Freedom,\u201d which aims to \u201cguide out\u201d commercial ships stranded in the Gulf by the U.S.-Israeli\u00a0war on Iran, and were enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports.<\/p>\n
The intervention appeared to raise the risk of a direct confrontation between the U.S. and Iran in a waterway that\u00a0usually carries a fifth of the world\u2019s seaborne oil and gas but has been blocked for two months as a result of the war.<\/p>\n
CENTCOM said two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels had crossed through the strait as the U.S. destroyers operated in the Gulf, adding: \u201cAmerican forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier, Tehran said it had forced a U.S. warship to turn back from the Strait of Hormuz, although\u00a0CENTCOM quickly denied a report by Iran\u2019s semi-official Fars news agency that two missiles had hit the ship near the Iranian port of Jask.<\/p>\n
A senior Iranian official told Reuters Iran had fired a warning shot and that it was unclear whether the warship had been damaged.<\/p>\n
SHIPPING INDUSTRY AWAITS CLARITY ON SAFETY OF HORMUZ<\/p>\n
Oil pricesLCOc1\u00a0had jumped 5% on reports of the warship being turned back, but later gave up half of that.\u00a0O\/R<\/p>\n
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that the U.S. had absolute control of the strait.<\/p>\n
But the shipping industry remains to be convinced that the vital oil route, whose closure has damaged global business and trade, is safe to\u00a0use, with little sign of progress towards a negotiated resolution of Washington\u2019s conflict with Iran.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s navy said it had prevented \u201cAmerican-Zionist\u201d warships entering the Strait area with a \u201cswift and decisive warning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump gave few details of his plan to aid ships and their crews who have been confined to the Gulf and are running low on food and other supplies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d he said in a post on his Truth Social site on Sunday.<\/p>\n
In response, Iran\u2019s unified command told commercial ships and oil tankers:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have repeatedly said the security of the Strait of Hormuz is in our hands and that the safe passage of vessels needs to be coordinated with the armed forces \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cWe warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive U.S. Army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iran has blocked nearly all shipping into and out of the Gulf apart from its own since the start of the war,\u00a0sending oil prices soaring\u00a0by 50% or more.<\/p>\n
CENTCOM said it would support Trump\u2019s \u201cProject Freedom\u201d with 15,000 military personnel and more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, plus\u00a0warships and drones.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear how the operation would work. It will not necessarily include naval escorts of commercial ships, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on X.<\/p>\n
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump said any interference with the U.S. operation would have to be \u201cdealt with forcefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
HUNDREDS OF MERCHANT SHIPS STUCK IN GULF FOR MONTHS<\/p>\n
However, the Joint Maritime Information Center, led by U.S. maritime forces based in Bahrain, told operators in a note that the U.S. had \u201cestablished an enhanced security area to support Strait of Hormuz transits.\u201d<\/p>\n
It advised vessels to\u00a0use Omani waters on the west of the strait to avoid mines, urging them to \u201ccarefully review risk assessments and routing ahead of transit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hundreds of commercial vessels and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been\u00a0unable to transit\u00a0the strait during the conflict, the International Maritime Organization\u00a0says.<\/p>\n
The container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd\u00a0said on Monday that it considered that transit through the strait was still not possible.<\/p>\n
Shipping and oil executives have said they need an agreed and full end to hostilities because military convoys alone are not enough to allow normal traffic to resume safely.<\/p>\n
The United Arab Emirates on Monday accused Iran of attacking an empty crude oil tanker belonging to the Abu Dhabi state oil firm ADNOC with drones as it attempted to pass through the strait.<\/p>\n
In a rare piece of good news, Pakistan said the U.S. had\u00a0handed over\u00a022 crew from an Iranian container vessel that American forces seized last month.<\/p>\n
Pakistan, which has been trying to broker a peace deal, described the move as a \u201cconfidence-building measure.\u201d<\/p>\n
IRAN REVIEWS U.S. RESPONSE TO PEACE PROPOSAL<\/p>\n
The United States and Israel suspended their\u00a0bombing campaign against Iran\u00a0four weeks ago, and U.S. and Iranian officials held one round of face-to-face talks. But attempts to set up further meetings have failed.<\/p>\n
Iranian state media said on Sunday Washington had conveyed its response to a 14-point Iranian proposal via Pakistan, and that Tehran was now reviewing it. Neither side gave details.<\/p>\n
A senior Iranian official has confirmed that the proposal envisages ending the war on all fronts \u2013 including Israel\u2019s attacks on Lebanon \u2013 and resolving the shipping standoff first, while leaving talks on Iran\u2019s nuclear program for later.<\/p>\n
Washington wants Tehran to give up its stockpile of more than 400 kg (900 pounds) of highly enriched uranium, which the United States\u00a0says\u00a0could power a bomb.<\/p>\n
Iran\u00a0says\u00a0its nuclear program is peaceful, although it is willing to discuss some curbs in return for the lifting of sanctions. It had accepted such curbs in a 2015 deal that Trump abandoned.<\/p>\n
Trump is under\u00a0pressure\u00a0to break Iran\u2019s hold on the strait to try to prevent soaring gasoline prices causing a\u00a0voter backlash\u00a0against his Republican Party in midterm congressional elections in November.<\/p>\n