On Monday, the US Navy will begin escorting ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the blockade.
President Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform.
According to Trump, “countries from all over the world” requested this operation, which was named Project Freedom, almost none of which are involved in the conflict in the Middle East.
Trump called the crews and owners of these ships “innocent witnesses” who were victims of circumstance.
The crews of many of these struggle with critical shortages of food and supplies necessary to maintain sanitary and health conditions for the crews.
“For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these countries that we will safely remove their ships from these closed waters so that they can conduct their business undisturbed,” Trump wrote.
The operation will begin on Monday morning local time. However, it only applies to ships from countries “not involved” in the Iran-Iraq war. Trump did not provide details on how the US intends to proceed in escorting the ships.
At the same time, he confirmed that American officials are having “very positive discussions with the Iranian side, and these discussions could lead to something very positive for everyone.”
The purpose of moving the ships is to help people and companies that have done nothing wrong – victims of circumstances,” Trump said. He added that after being removed from the risk area, most ships do not plan to return until the region is fully safe to navigate.
While Trump presented the operation as a goodwill gesture, he also warned that if the humanitarian process was disrupted in any way, the disruption would “have to be dealt with forcefully.”
The Strait of Hormuz is almost impassable due to the war with Iran, which broke out on February 28. Previously, approximately 20 percent of oil and liquefied natural gas was transported there.
The number of vessels using this route has fallen to around five percent of pre-war levels. The US imposed a naval blockade of the strait on April 13. A number of ships from countries that are not parties to the conflict remain stranded in the Persian Gulf.
