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  "path": "/partner/iran-us-escort-hormuz-ships",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-04T03:48:30.000Z",
  "site": "https://nukta.com",
  "tags": [
    "Strait of Hormuz",
    "Scott Bessent",
    "threatened to sink"
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  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nIran warned on Monday that any US attempt to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz would constitute a breach of the Mideast ceasefire.\n\nPresident Donald Trump responded by announcing that the United States would begin escorting commercial ships through the blocked waterway. The standoff has become the central obstacle in stalled negotiations since a ceasefire took effect on April 8.\n\n#### What is Trump's Project Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz?\n\nProject Freedom is a US military operation to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded since US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.\n\nTrump described it as a humanitarian gesture for crews aboard stranded vessels facing food and supply shortages. US Central Command will deploy guided-missile destroyers, over 100 aircraft, unmanned platforms and 15,000 service members.\n\n#### Why did Iran threaten to call it a ceasefire violation?\n\nThe head of Iran's parliamentary national security commission, Ebrahim Azizi, warned that Washington had no authority to operate within what Tehran now calls the strait's \"new maritime regime.\" Iran has controlled access to the waterway since its forces moved to block it following US-Israeli attacks on Tehran. Any US naval presence in that corridor, Iranian officials say, crosses a line drawn in the ceasefire agreement.\n\nTrump, posting on Truth Social, said operations would begin Monday.\n\n\"We will use best efforts to get their Ships and Crews safely out of the Strait,\" he wrote, adding that crews had indicated they would not return until the area was safe for navigation. He also noted his representatives were holding \"very positive discussions\" with Iran, though he made no direct reference to what Tehran described as a 14-point plan aimed at ending the war.\n\n#### How many ships are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz?\n\nAs of April 29, more than 900 commercial vessels were located in the Gulf, according to maritime intelligence firm AXSMarine.\n\nIran's blockade has choked off major flows of oil, gas and fertilizer to the world economy. The United States has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports in response.\n\nOil prices are currently about 50 percent above pre-conflict levels, largely driven by the supply disruption in the strait. Washington's European allies have grown increasingly alarmed. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, in a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said Iran must \"completely and verifiably renounce nuclear weapons and immediately open the Strait of Hormuz.\"\n\n#### How is the US escalating economic pressure on Iran?\n\nTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on Sunday that the naval blockade was one component of a broader economic embargo. \"We are suffocating the regime, and they are not able to pay their soldiers,\" he told Fox News, describing it as a whole-of-government effort.\n\nThe remarks came as US news site Axios reported that Iran had set a one-month deadline for negotiations on a deal to reopen the strait and dissolve the US blockade.\n\nEarlier on Sunday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Trump faced a binary choice: \"an impossible operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran.\" Trump declined to specify what would trigger new US military action, but warned that any interference with the escort mission would \"have to be dealt with forcefully.\"\n\n#### What has Iran threatened if the US enters the strait?\n\nMohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, threatened to sink US warships if they entered the strait. \"Prepare to face a graveyard of your carriers and forces,\" he posted on X. Despite the escalating rhetoric, Trump said he remained optimistic that ongoing talks could lead to something \"very positive for all.\"",
  "title": "Iran warns of ceasefire violation as US plans to escort Hormuz ships"
}