Iran warns US Navy to keep clear of Strait of Hormuz

A fresh warning from Iran’s military has raised the stakes in the Strait of Hormuz, after President Donald Trump said the United States would begin helping ships trapped in the Gulf by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Mr Trump offered few specifics on how Washington would assist vessels and crews that he said had been “locked up” in the strategic waterway, with many now short of food and other essential supplies more than two months into the conflict.

“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,” Mr Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site yesterday.

Iran’s armed forces swiftly pushed back, with their unified command warning US troops against moving into the strait.

“We have repeatedly said the security of the Strait of Hormuz is in our hands and that the safe passage of vessels needs to be coordinated with the armed forces,” Ali Abdollahi, the head of the forces’ unified command said in the statement.

“We warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive US army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz.”

US Central Command said it would back the mission with 15,000 military personnel, more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft, as well as warships and drones.

“Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy ‌as we also maintain the naval blockade,” Admiral Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, said in ⁠a statement.

Hundreds of ships and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been unable to transit the strait during the conflict, the International Maritime Organization says.

Shortly after Mr Trump’s remarks, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said a tanker had reported being struck by unknown projectiles in the strait.

The agency said all crew were safe in the incident, which took place 78 nautical miles north of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates, though few other details were immediately available.

The US imposed a blockade on ships leaving from Iranian ports (File image)

For more than two months, Iran has blocked nearly all Gulf shipping except its own, helping send energy prices sharply higher.

Some vessels trying to pass through the strait have reported coming under fire, while Iran has seized several others. Last month, the US imposed its own blockade on ships departing Iranian ports.

The Trump administration has been pressing other countries to join an international coalition aimed at protecting shipping in the strait. CENTCOM said the latest initiative would combine “diplomatic action with military coordination.”

It remained unclear which countries would benefit from the US operation, or precisely how it would be carried out.

It will not necessarily include US Navy ships escorting commercial ships, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said in a post on X.

Mr Trump warned that any attempt to disrupt the US operation would “have to be dealt with forcefully.”

Equity markets edged higher this morning, while crude oil prices were little changed after climbing back above $100 a barrel last week as uncertainty deepened over when and how the conflict might end.

Yesterday, Iran said it had received a US response to its latest ⁠offer for peace talks, a ‌day after Mr Trump said he would probably reject the Iranian proposal because “they have not paid a big enough price.”

Speaking in response to shouted questions from reporters, Mr Trump said last evening that talks were going “very well”, without giving further details.

Iranian state media said the US had sent its response to Iran’s 14-point proposal via Pakistan, and that Tehran was now reviewing it. There was no immediate confirmation from Washington or Islamabad that such a response had been delivered.

“At this stage, we do not have nuclear negotiations,” state media quoted Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.

The remark appeared to refer to Iran’s proposal to postpone nuclear talks ⁠until after the war ends and the two sides agree to lift rival blockades on Gulf shipping.

The United States and Israel halted their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, and US and Iranian officials held one round of talks. But efforts to arrange ⁠further meetings have so far come to nothing.

The proposal to push nuclear talks into a later phase would appear to conflict with Washington’s repeated demand that Iran accept strict limits on its nuclear programme before the war can end.

The US wants Iran to surrender its stockpile of more than 400kg of highly enriched uranium, which the United States says could be used to make a bomb.

Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful, though it has said it is prepared to discuss some limits in exchange for sanctions relief. It had accepted such curbs under a 2015 deal that Mr Trump later abandoned.

Even as he says he is in no rush, Mr Trump is facing pressure at home to break Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, which has cut off 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies and pushed up US gasoline prices.

His Republican Party also faces the threat of a voter backlash over higher costs ahead of midterm congressional elections due in November.

Iranian media said Tehran’s 14-point proposal includes withdrawing ‌US forces from nearby areas, lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, paying compensation, lifting sanctions, ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon, and creating a new control mechanism for the strait.