The U.S. began guiding ships through the Strait of Hormuz as the UAE reported an Iranian drone attack on an ADNOC-linked tanker, keeping tensions high in a vital energy route.
The U.S. military said two U.S.-flagged commercial vessels safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Monday under President Donald Trump’s new Project Freedom initiative, even as the United Arab Emirates said an ADNOC-affiliated tanker was targeted by Iranian drones in the same waterway.
The twin developments underscored how quickly the effort to reopen one of the world’s most important energy corridors could test the fragile standoff between Washington and Tehran. Iran has warned commercial ships not to move through the strait without its coordination and has threatened to attack U.S. forces that enter the area.
U.S. Central Command said Navy guided-missile destroyers were operating in the Arabian Gulf after transiting the strait in support of Project Freedom. CENTCOM described the two merchant-vessel crossings as a first step in efforts to restore commercial transit while maintaining the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. It did not say whether the merchant ships were escorted directly by U.S. warships or guided by some other means.
Trump announced the operation Sunday, saying the United States would help ships stranded in the Gulf leave restricted waters. CENTCOM said the effort would be supported by 15,000 military personnel, more than 100 aircraft, warships and drones. Maritime agencies and shipping companies, however, have signaled that normal traffic is not close to resuming.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday that two drones targeted a carrier affiliated with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company as it moved through the Strait of Hormuz. The ministry reported no injuries and condemned what it called an Iranian attack, but it did not identify the tanker by name, say whether it was damaged or clarify whether it had coordinated with the U.S. operation.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency also said a tanker off the coast of Fujairah in the UAE had been hit by unknown projectiles. It said all crew were safe and no environmental impact had been reported. The agency kept the maritime security threat level in the strait at critical and advised ships to consider routes through Oman’s territorial waters, where U.S. officials have described an enhanced security area.
Iran’s military warning was explicit. Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran’s unified command, said the security of the strait was in Iranian hands and that safe passage had to be coordinated with Iran’s armed forces. “We warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive U.S. Army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz,” he said in a statement cited by Al Jazeera and CBC.
Accounts of a separate encounter involving U.S. warships conflicted. Iran’s Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, claimed two missiles had hit a U.S. warship near the southern entrance to the strait. CENTCOM denied that any U.S. Navy ship had been struck. Iranian officials also described warning fire, while the U.S. military did not immediately confirm an attack on its vessels.
The stakes reach far beyond the ships now waiting in and around the Gulf. The strait carries a large share of global oil and gas shipments, and the disruption has already rattled energy markets. CBS reported that oil prices jumped early Monday before easing from their initial spike after CENTCOM denied the Iranian claim that a U.S. ship had been hit.
Commercial operators remain cautious. CBC reported that container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd said its risk assessment had not changed and that transit through the strait was still not possible. Industry executives have said military convoys alone may not be enough to restore confidence without a broader reduction in hostilities.
A diplomatic track is still open but uncertain. Iranian officials said they were reviewing a U.S. response, relayed through Pakistan, to Tehran’s 14-point proposal to end the war. For now, the first Project Freedom crossings show that limited movement through Hormuz is possible; they do not yet answer whether the route can safely return to regular commercial traffic.
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