Trump gave few details of the plan to aid ships and their crews that have been confined to the vital waterway and are running low on food and other 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,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site on Sunday.
In response, Iran’s unified command told commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any movement that was not coordinated with Iran’s military.
“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 co-ordinated with the armed forces,” Ali Abdollahi, 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.”
Iran has blocked nearly all shipping into and out of the Gulf apart from its own since the start of the war, cutting off around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments and sending oil prices soaring by 50 percent or more.
US Central Command, which for its part is blockading Iranian ports to put pressure on Tehran, said it would support the rescue effort with 15,000 military personnel and more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, plus warships and drones.
Hundreds of commercial vessels and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been unable to transit the strait during the conflict, the International Maritime Organisation says.
Numerous executives from the shipping and oil industries have said they need an end to hostilities and some form of peace deal because they do not regard military convoys as a solution that would allow normal traffic to resume and the shipping industry to feel safe.
Asked on Monday about the US response to Tehran’s latest offer, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said he would not go into details but took another swipe at Washington’s stance.
“The US will not easily give up its habit of maximalism and unreasonable demands. We are still faced with a side that both changes its views regularly and raises issues that could complicate any diplomatic process,” he said.
Some vessels attempting to transit the strait have reported being fired on, and Iran has seized others. Soon after Trump’s comments on Sunday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said a tanker had reported being hit by unknown projectiles in the strait.
In a rare piece of good news, Pakistan said on Monday the United States had handed over 22 crew from an Iranian container vessel that American forces had seized last month in what Tehran called a violation of international law. (Reuters)
