Iran says it forced US warship to turn back from Hormuz, while US denies it was hit by missiles

DUBAI/DORAL, Florida – The US military said two US Navy guided-missile destroyers had entered the Gulf to break an Iranian blockade and that two US ships had transited the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran said it had prevented a US warship entering the Gulf.

US Central Command said its forces were supporting President Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom”, which aims to “guide out” commercial ships stranded in the Gulf by the US-Israeli war on Iran, and were enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports.

The intervention appeared to raise the risk of a direct confrontation between the US and Iran in a waterway that usually carries a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil and gas but has been blocked for two months as a result of the war.

CENTCOM said two US-flagged merchant vessels had crossed the strait as the US destroyers operated in the Gulf, adding: “American forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping.”

Earlier on May 4, Iran said it had forced a US warship to turn back from the Strait of Hormuz, although CENTCOM quickly denied an Iranian news report that the ship had been hit by missiles.

Iran’s navy said it had prevented “American-Zionist” warships entering the strait area by issuing a “swift and decisive warning”. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said two missiles had hit the warship near the port of Jask at the southern entrance to the strait. CENTCOM denied that any warship had been struck.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters Iran had fired a warning shot and that it was unclear whether the warship had been damaged.

Oil prices had jumped 5 per cent on reports of the warship being turned back.

The shipping industry remains to be convinced that the vital oil route, whose closure has damaged global business and trade, is safe to use, with little sign of progress towards a negotiated resolution of Washington’s conflict with Iran.

Mr Trump gave few details of the plan to aid ships and their crews that have been “locked up” in the vital waterway and are running low on food and other supplies more than two months since the conflict began.

“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,” Mr Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site on May 3.

The unified command of Iran’s armed forces responded by warning US forces to stay out of the strait.

Its forces would “respond harshly” to any threat, it added, telling commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any movement in the absence of coordination 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 coordinated with the armed forces,” Mr Ali Abdollahi, the 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.”

US Central Command said it would support the effort with 15,000 military personnel, more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft, along with warships and drones.

“Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade,” Admiral Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, said in a statement.

Hundreds of ships and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been unable to transit the strait during the conflict, the International Maritime Organisation says.

Container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd said on May 4 its risk assessment was unchanged and that transit through the strait was still not possible.

Many 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 May 4 about the US response to Tehran’s latest offer, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson 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 told reporters.

Some vessels attempting to transit the strait have reported being fired on, and Iran has seized others.

In a rare piece of good news, Pakistan said on May 4 the US had handed over 22 crew members from an Iranian container vessel that US forces had seized in April in what Tehran called a violation of international law.

Pakistan, which has been trying to broker a peace deal, described the US move as a “confidence-building measure”.

The Trump administration has been seeking help from other countries to form an international coalition to secure shipping in the strait. CENTCOM said the latest effort would combine “diplomatic action with military coordination”.

Crude oil prices edged higher on May 4 and analysts said they were likely to remain above US$100 a barrel with no peace deal in sight and the Strait of Hormuz still largely blocked.

The US and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, and US and Iranian officials held one round of talks. But attempts to set up further meetings have so far failed.

Mr Trump faces domestic pressure to break Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has driven up US petrol prices, threatening to cause a voter backlash against his Republican Party in midterm congressional elections in November. REUTERS