Iran Hits Ships and UAE Oil Port After U.S. President Orders Navy to Open Hormuz

CENTCOM

Strait of Hormuz.

Iran hit several ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and set a UAE oil port ablaze, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced "Project Freedom" to open the strait.

President Trump's new mission "Project Freedom", which he announced on social media overnight to release ships stuck in ‌the strait, was the first apparent attempt to make use of naval power to unblock the world's most important energy shipping route.

The U.S. military said on Monday that two U.S. merchant ships had made it through the strait, without saying when. Iran denied any such crossings had taken place.

The commander of U.S. forces in the region said his fleet had destroyed six small Iranian boats, which Iran also denied. Admiral Brad Cooper said he "strongly advised" Iranian forces to keep clear of U.S. military assets carrying out the mission.

Iranian authorities, for their part, released a map of what they said was an expanded sea area now under their control, which went far beyond the strait to include swathes of international waters, including long stretches of the United Arab Emirates' coastline on either side ⁠of the strait.

South Korea reported one of its merchant ships had been hit by an explosion and fire inside the strait. The British maritime security agency UKMTO reported two ships had been hit off the coast of the UAE, and the Emirati oil company ADNOC said one of its empty oil tankers was hit by Iranian drones while trying to cross.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said there was a fire and an explosion onboard the Namu, a merchant ship operated by South Korean shipper HMM. Yonhap ⁠news agency reported that the government was checking intelligence indicating the vessel may have been attacked.

The UAE, meanwhile, reported a fire at an oil installation in its port of Fujairah following an Iranian drone attack. Fujairah lies beyond the strait, making it one of the few export routes for Middle East oil that does not require passing through it.

"Iran has taken some shots at unrelated Nations with respect to the Ship Movement, PROJECT FREEDOM, including a South Korean Cargo Ship. Perhaps it’s time for South Korea to come and join the mission!" President Trump posted on social media on Monday.

After reported drone and missile attacks inside the UAE throughout the day, including one that caused a fire at an important oil port, the UAE said Iranian attacks marked a serious escalation and it reserved the right to respond.

In a post on X, U.S. Central Command said some of its Navy guided-missile destroyers were inside the Gulf supporting the operation, and that two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels had crossed the strait "and are safely headed on their journey".

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said no commercial vessels had crossed the strait in the past few hours, and that U.S. claims to the contrary were false.

Earlier, Iran said it had fired on a U.S. warship approaching the strait, forcing it to turn around. An initial Iranian report had said a U.S. warship was struck, but Washington denied this and Iranian officials later described the fire as warning shots.

The United States and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four 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.

Iranian state media said on Sunday that Washington had conveyed its response to a 14-point Iranian proposal via Pakistan, and that Tehran was now reviewing it. Neither side gave details of any U.S. response.

The Iranian proposal would postpone discussion of Iran's nuclear programme until after an agreement to end the war and resolve the standoff over shipping. Trump said over the weekend he was still studying it but would probably reject it.

Source: Reuters



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