US Central Command launched Project Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, May 4, one day after President Donald Trump announced the operation and said the United States would make every effort to help ships and crews leave the strait safely.
The mission aims to restore freedom of navigation through one of the world’s most strategically important maritime corridors, where thousands of seafarers and ships remain stranded.
The Strait of Hormuz also plays a critical role in global energy markets, carrying one quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade, along with major volumes of fuel and fertilizers.
Trump described the movement of vessels as an effort to assist people, companies and countries that had “done absolutely nothing wrong” and had become “victims of circumstance.”
He called the operation a humanitarian gesture by the United States, Middle Eastern countries and, in particular, Iran.
At the same time, he warned that any attempt to obstruct the process would draw a forceful response.
BREAKING: Trump:
Countries from all over the World, almost all of which are not involved in the Middle Eastern dispute going on so visibly, and violently, for all to see, have asked the United States if we could help free up their Ships, which are locked up in the Strait of… pic.twitter.com/SKzY9pjybw
— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 3, 2026
CENTCOM said US support for Project Freedom will include guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft operating from land and carrier decks, multi-domain unmanned platforms and 15,000 military personnel.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said US support for the defensive mission remains necessary for regional security and the global economy, while the naval blockade stays in place.
The operation also follows a broader diplomatic and military coordination effort announced last week by the US State Department in cooperation with the Department of War. The initiative, called the Maritime Freedom Construct, aims to improve coordination and intelligence sharing among international partners supporting maritime security in the strait.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 3, 2026
Tehran responded sharply to the US announcement. Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, warned that any American involvement in what he called the “new naval regime” in the Strait of Hormuz would violate the ceasefire.
Azizi issued the warning in both English and Persian on X, signaling that Iran could view the US operation as grounds for retaliation.
The warning raises the risk of a new escalation around the strait, even as Washington insists the mission aims to secure safe passage for trapped vessels and crews.
WARNING
Any American interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire.
The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf would not be managed by Trump’s delusional posts!
No one would believe Blame Game scenarios!
— ابراهیم عزیزی (@Ebrahimazizi33) May 3, 2026
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) says as many as 20,000 sailors remain stranded aboard roughly 2,000 vessels in the Strait of Hormuz following the start of the US-Israel war against Iran.
The stranded vessels include oil and gas tankers, bulk carriers, cargo ships and cruise ships. According to the IMO, the region has recorded at least 19 attacks on ships since the beginning of the conflict, killing at least 10 sailors and injuring eight others.
The agency had previously warned that vessels trapped in the Gulf faced critical shortages of food, fuel and water.
