Trump frames operation as humanitarian effort to guide neutral vessels to safety while CENTCOM deploys major military assets under “Project Freedom”
U.S. forces will “help free up” ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz beginning Monday morning, President Donald Trump announced on May 3.
Trump said nations around the world had requested U.S. assistance in moving vessels trapped in the restricted waterway.
“They are merely neutral and innocent bystanders!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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.”
He added on Sunday that the ships receiving assistance are “not in any way involved” in the Middle East conflict, describing the operation as a “humanitarian gesture.”
“I have told my Representatives to inform them that we will use best efforts to get their Ships and Crews safely out of the Strait,” Trump said, noting that vessel operators indicated they would not return until conditions are safe for navigation.
Trump did not specify whether the U.S. Navy would directly participate in the operation.
United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said on May 4 that its forces will begin assisting merchant vessels seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz under a mission named “Project Freedom.”
According to the command, the operation will involve 15,000 U.S. service members, guided-missile destroyers, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and more than 100 aircraft operating across land and sea.
“Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade,” CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement.
The announcement came hours after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that a bulk carrier was attacked by multiple small craft while heading toward the Strait of Hormuz near Iran on Sunday.
All crew members were reported safe following the incident, with no environmental damage or pollution recorded.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most critical routes for oil and gas shipments—has been disrupted by Iran following U.S. and Israeli strikes on its leadership, military infrastructure, and nuclear sites at the end of February. Tehran responded with drone and missile attacks on U.S. and Israeli military assets across Gulf nations and deployed sea mines in the waterway.
The United States also imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports last month. Officials have stated that U.S. forces will not interfere with freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait, provided those ships are not docking at Iranian ports.
