President Donald Trump said the United States would “liberate” ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday, suggesting the administration would break Iran’s blockade on the strategic waterway.
President Trump on Sunday said the push, dubbed Project Freedom, was a “humanitarian act” and warned Iran not to interfere with the operation.
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It is unclear how the campaign will proceed or whether it will involve coordination with the Iranian government. If met with resistance from Iran, the move risks shattering a fragile ceasefire that took effect in April.
“Many of these ships are running low on food and everything their large crews need to stay on board in a healthy and sanitary manner,” the US president said in a social media post.
“A show of goodwill on behalf of all those who have fought so hard over the last few months will go a long way. If this humanitarian process is disrupted in any way, unfortunately that disruption will have to be strongly responded to.”
President Trump said he told his agents to tell Iranian officials that the U.S. “will use our best efforts to safely extricate the vessel and its crew from the strait.”
The US military had previously said it was “not ready” to accompany ships through the straits.
“Is this a negotiation tactic?”
The ceasefire has been in place for more than three weeks, but oil prices have soared due to the Iranian government’s blockade of Hormuz and the US siege of Iranian ports.
In the United States, gasoline prices have risen to $4.44 per gallon from less than $3 before the war began, fueling inflation. Recent polls show that energy costs are increasing public dissatisfaction with the war as President Trump’s approval ratings plummet.
President Trump has previously argued that a U.S. siege is “more effective than bombing,” suggesting he is satisfied with the status quo of a competing blockade in the Gulf.
But the move to force Hormuz to reopen could change the relative calm that has persisted despite rising tensions over the past few weeks.
Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, said the U.S. military’s push to reopen Hormuz Island could never be seen as a humanitarian mission by Iran.
“This would bring US forces and assets potentially closer to Iranian firing ranges if an escort takes place,” Mortazavi said in a television interview with Al Jazeera.
“So we don’t know if this is a threat. Is this a negotiating tactic? … Or is this really the president’s plan? I mean, we know, and the Iranian government suspects, that there could be some form of escalation. We don’t know if this is the case.”
President Trump suggested on Sunday that the path to a diplomatic solution to the crisis remained open.
“I am fully aware that my representatives are having very positive discussions with the State of Iran and that these discussions can lead to something very positive for everyone,” he said.
“The Ship movement is simply about liberating people, companies and countries who have done nothing wrong. They are victims of circumstance.”
President Trump: ‘Iran’s plan is unacceptable’
But hours earlier, the US president said he rejected Iran’s latest 14-point proposal to end the war.
“It’s unacceptable to me. I’ve studied it, I’ve studied everything, and it’s unacceptable,” Trump told Israel’s public broadcaster KAN.
Details of the 14-point plan remain unclear, but Iranian officials said Tehran is focused on permanently ending the war and lifting the port blockade ahead of talks to secure a broader nuclear deal.
Despite President Trump’s comments, Iranian officials said Sunday that Tehran had received a formal response from Washington to the proposal and was currently considering it.
The US president has previously indicated he wants to inflict further damage on Iran before the war ends.
“We will soon scrutinize the plan that Iran has sent us, but we cannot consider it acceptable because Iran has not yet paid the full price for what it has done to humanity and the world over the past 47 years,” he said on Saturday.
Iran has expressed defiance of President Trump’s comments, warning that it will defend itself against any attack. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it was “fully prepared” to counter any “adventures or folly” of the US government.
