TEHRAN — Iran warned the United States on Monday it will attack US forces if they attempt to approach the Strait of Hormuz as the American military launches a new effort to “guide” stranded ships through the critical waterway. Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters, said early Monday that Iran would strike any foreign force attempting to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump announced that starting Monday morning the US military would help free ships that have been “locked up” and unable to transit the key trade route amid the maritime standoff between Tehran and Washington. It’s the latest bid to break Iran’s stranglehold over the strait, which has left global shipping at an effective standstill and sent energy prices spiraling. Iran quickly pushed back, issuing a new map and a flurry of statements that sought to reassert its control. Passage must be carried out in coordination with Tehran, its military command cautioned. “We warn that any foreign armed force, especially the aggressive military of America, should they intend to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz, will be subjected to attack,” Abdollahi said in a statement on state TV channel IRIB. Hours later, Tehran claimed it had stopped a US destroyer from entering the strait. “With a firm and rapid warning from the Army Navy of the Islamic Republic, the entry of enemy American-Zionist destroyers into the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz was prevented. Further details will be announced later,” army public relations said in a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. The US military said that “no US Navy ships have been struck,” in response to Iranian state media claims that two missiles had hit a US warship near the entrance to the strait. “US forces are supporting Project Freedom and enforcing the naval blockade on Iranian ports,” Central Command said in a post on X. The United Arab Emirates said a tanker affiliated with Adnoc, the state-owned oil company, has been hit in the Strait of Hormuz. No one has been injured, the country’s foreign ministry says in a statement. The UAE has called for Iran to stop the attack and “ensure its full commitment to an immediate cessation of all hostilities, and the complete and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz”. Trump announced in a lengthy TruthSocial post Sunday that the US would “guide ships” of countries not involved in the Middle East crisis safely out of the strait, “so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.” Trump added that what he dubbed “Project Freedom” would begin Monday morning Middle East time, though many details remained unclear. US Central Command said that 15,000 service members, guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft and multi-domain unmanned platforms will be involved in the new operation. The Joint Maritime Information Center said that the US has established an “enhanced security area” to the south of usual shipping routes to support transit. It said vessels should consider routing via Oman territorial waters as usual routes should be considered “extremely hazardous due the presence of mines that have not been fully surveyed and mitigated.” It was not immediately clear whether any ships had begun using the route or the US mission. Iran’s Navy shared a new map of what it said was the area of the strait under its control, though it was not clear whether this represented any change. Maritime movements that are inconsistent with Tehran’s “declared principles” will face serious risks, said Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. “Violating vessels will be stopped with full force,” he said, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency. Hundreds of ships and thousands of crew members have been stranded in the area since Iran launched attacks and threatened shipping in the wake of the joint US-Israeli assault more than two months ago. Many of these crews are running low on food and other necessities, Trump said, calling his move to free them up a “humanitarian gesture” by the US One sailor stuck in the strait told NBC News the security situation left him unable to sleep, spending nights on the deck watching rockets fly over his head. Two ships were attacked in the strait this weekend, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said. Trump’s announcement was done without industry coordination, leaving shipping companies scrambling for details, Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of maritime data analysis company Lloyd’s List Intelligence, wrote in an analysis. With peace talks stalled, energy prices have been under pressure. Oil prices started to climb after Iran made clear that it would attack any forces that approached the Strait. Brent had climbed 1.52% to trade at $109.80, while WTI was up 1.56% at 103.50. Neither side has offered much optimism about a deal to end the war, but Tehran said Monday it was reviewing the latest US counterproposal. Pakistan meanwhile said that it had facilitated the transfer of 22 Iranian sailors from the “Touska” container ship seized by US forces last month. It described the move as a “confidence-building measure.” The sailors were flown to Pakistan on Sunday night, a statement from the country’s foreign ministry said, and will be handed over to Iranian authorities. The ship will be taken to Pakistani territorial waters, the statement added, to be returned to its original owners after necessary repairs.
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