2 min readMay 5, 2026 02:08 PM IST
US President Donald Trump announced the will guide the ships that have been stuck since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait has remained mostly blocked since the US and Israel struck Iran, which in turn responded by blocking the strategic waterway crucial for the transit of global energy supplies.
What is ‘Project Freedom’?
Trump said countries “from all over the World” have asked the US to help free up their vessels that were “locked up” in the Strait of Hormuz and were “merely neutral and innocent bystanders!”
Responding to these requests, the US would “guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways”, Trump said. This effort is being termed as ‘Project Freedom’.
Trump called it a “Humanitarian gesture on behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern Countries, but, in particular, the Country of Iran” as a number of these ships were running short of food, and all other essentials for large crews to survive on board.
“The Ship movement is merely meant to free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong — They are victims of circumstance,” Trump said in his Truth Social post.
What has Iran said about it?
Even as Trump’s statement sounded like Iran is a party to the operation, Tehran said that it would attack “any foreign armed force” that tried to approach the Strait, “especially, the aggressive US army”.
Maj Gen Ali Abdollahi said any safe passage through the water strip should be coordinated with Iran.
— with inputs from Reuters and BBC
