The United States Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, revealed during a press conference at the Pentagon on Tuesday that six ships attempted to circumvent the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports during the implementation of the “Project Freedom” operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but were intercepted and turned back.
In fact, Hegseth stated, “At the start of ‘Project Freedom,’ six ships attempted to break the blockade and sail out of Iranian ports but were all forced to turn back.”
“Project Freedom” is a mission announced by President Trump aimed at assisting stranded commercial vessels in navigating through the Strait of Hormuz. Hegseth’s remarks were intended to clarify that “Project Freedom” does not include aiding ships affiliated with Iran. Instead, the U.S. military will continue to enforce a firm blockade of Iranian ports to prevent commercial ships from entering or leaving Iran.
He emphasized the necessity for the U.S. military to escort international commercial vessels. He stated, “Clearly, Iran is the aggressor, harassing civilian ships, threatening sailors from various countries indiscriminately, and weaponizing this vital waterway for their economic gain, or at least attempting to do so.”
“For a long time, Iran has been harassing ships, firing at civilian oil tankers from various countries, and attempting to establish a toll system. Iran’s plans are essentially international extortion and are unacceptable. All of this will come to an end with ‘Project Freedom,'” he said.
The U.S. Central Command responsible for carrying out blockade operations announced on social media platform X on Tuesday that the U.S. military is conducting maritime blockade operations against Iran.
“As of now, 51 ships have been instructed to turn around or return to port, with the aim of preventing commercial ships from entering or leaving Iran,” the Central Command stated.
Additionally, the Central Command released a photo showing a U.S. sailor on duty aboard the missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy during the naval blockade operations in the Arabian Sea.