Tehran (AFP) – Iran’s military warned on Monday that US forces would be attacked if they entered the Strait of Hormuz, after President Donald Trump said the United States would begin escorting ships through the waterway. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire in the US-Israeli war against Iran took effect on April 8, with Tehran’s stranglehold on the strait a main point of contention.
Trump said on Sunday that the new maritime operation, which he dubbed “Project Freedom”, was a “humanitarian” gesture for crews aboard the many ships swept up in the blockade who may be running low on food and other supplies. “We will use best efforts to get their Ships and Crews safely out of the Strait. In all cases, they said they will not be returning until the area becomes safe for navigation,” Trump posted on Truth Social, saying operations would begin on Monday.
In response, the Iranian military’s central command said any safe passage through Hormuz must be coordinated with its forces “under all circumstances”. “We warn that any foreign armed force — especially the aggressive US military — if they intend to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz, will be targeted and attacked,” said Major General Ali Abdollahi in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB. By blocking the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has choked off major flows of oil, gas, and fertilizer to the world economy, while the United States has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
Trump in his post said he was “fully aware that my Representatives are having very positive discussions with the Country of Iran, and that these discussions could lead to something very positive for all.” But he made no direct mention of a 14-point plan that Tehran said it put forward last week to end the war. US Central Command said it would use guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members in the Hormuz effort. As of April 29, more than 900 commercial vessels were located in the Gulf, according to maritime intelligence firm AXSMarine.
US news website Axios, citing two sources briefed on the Iranian proposal, reported that Tehran set “a one-month deadline for negotiations on a deal to reopen the strait”, lift the US naval blockade, and end the war. On Sunday, the Revolutionary Guards sought to put the onus back on Trump, saying he must choose between “an impossible operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
Washington’s European allies are concerned that the longer the strait remains closed, the more their economies will suffer, and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul demanded that it be reopened. In a call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, Wadephul stressed that Germany supported a negotiated solution but that “Iran must completely and verifiably renounce nuclear weapons and immediately open the Strait of Hormuz”.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron, who has tried to coordinate a post-war mission to the strait alongside Britain and an international coalition, called for “a coordinated reopening by the United States and Iran”. “That is the only solution for reopening,” he said. Oil prices are currently about 50 percent above pre-conflict levels, largely due to the supply snarls in the strait.
The US president, who spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, declined on Sunday to specify what could trigger new US military action. But in his post, he said that “if in any way, this Humanitarian (ship-guiding) process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully”. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US naval blockade was only part of a broader economic embargo. “We are suffocating the regime, and they are not able to pay their soldiers,” he told Fox News. “This is a real economic blockade, and it is in all parts of government.”
© 2024 AFP
