DUBAI/WASHINGTON: Suspected Iranian strikes hit several ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and set a UAE oil port ablaze, as President Donald Trump’s attempt to use the US Navy to free up shipping provoked the biggest escalation of the Iran war since a ceasefire was declared four weeks ago.
Trump’s new mission “Project Freedom”, which he announced on social media overnight, was the first apparent attempt to make use of naval power to unblock the world’s most important energy shipping route.
But at least in the initial hours on Monday, the gamble appeared to have backfired, bringing no surge of merchant shipping through the strait while provoking a show of force from Iran, which had long threatened to respond to any escalation with new attacks on its neighbours.
Trump downplayed tensions after US warships entered the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, saying Iran had “taken some shots” but caused no harm apart from damage to a South Korean vessel. “Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait.” He said the US has “shot down seven small boats”.
The US military said two US merchant ships had made it through the strait, without saying when. Iran denied any such crossings had taken place.The commander of US forces in the region said his fleet had destroyed six small Iranian boats, which Iran also denied. Admiral Brad Cooper said he “strongly advised” Iranian forces to keep clear of US military assets carrying out the mission.
Iranian authorities, for their part, released a map of what they said was an expanded sea area now under their control, which went far beyond the strait to include swathes of international waters, including long stretches of the United Arab Emirates’ coastline on either side of the strait.
South Korea reported one of its merchant ships had been hit by an explosion and fire inside the strait. The British maritime security agency UKMTO reported two ships had been hit off the coast of the UAE, and the Emirati oil company ADNOC said one of its empty oil tankers was hit by Iranian drones while trying to cross.
After reported drone and missile attacks inside the UAE throughout the day, including one that caused a fire at an important oil port, the UAE said Iranian attacks marked a serious escalation and it reserved the right to respond.
Trump has struggled to find a solution to the disruption of international energy supplies caused by Iran’s blockade of the strait, which carried a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas before the war.
The warring sides issued contradictory statements on Monday about the initial impact of the new US mission, and Reuters could not independently verify the full situation there.
But there was no immediate sign that large numbers of merchant ships were making new attempts to cross, and major shipping companies said they were likely to wait for an agreed end to hostilities before trying to sail through.
In a post on X, US Central Command said some of its Navy guided-missile destroyers were inside the Gulf supporting the operation, and that two US-flagged merchant vessels had crossed the strait “and are safely headed on their journey”.
It did not identify either the warships or the merchant vessels or say when any of those crossings had taken place. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said no commercial vessels had crossed the strait in the past few hours, and that US claims to the contrary were false.
Earlier, Iran said it had fired on a US warship approaching the strait, forcing it to turn around. An initial Iranian report had said a US warship was struck, but Washington denied this and Iranian officials later described the fire as warning shots.
The UAE, meanwhile, reported a fire at an oil installation in its port of Fujairah following an Iranian drone attack. Fujairah lies beyond the strait, making it one of the few export routes for Middle East oil that does not require passing through it.
In his social media post announcing the new mission, Trump gave few details of what action the US Navy would take to get ships through the strait. “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,” Trump wrote.
In response, Iran’s unified command told commercial ships and oil tankers: “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 ... 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.”
Seoul said that an “explosion and fire” had struck a South Korean ship in the Strait of Hormuz. There had been “no casualties to date” among the 24 crew members on board, who include six South Koreans and 18 foreign nationals, the ministry said in a statement.
Trump said that South Korea should join US efforts to protect ship movements near Iran, and added that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth would hold a news conference on Tuesday with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine.
US media reported that the US Navy would not escort vessels through the strait but would provide guidance on traversing the narrow seaway. News site Axios said US ships would be “in the vicinity” to prevent Iranian attacks on commercial vessels.
Iranian state media then reported that “following the Zionist American destroyers’ disregard for the initial warning, the Navy issued a warning shot by firing cruise missiles, rockets, and combat drones around the aggressor enemy vessels”.
The Fars news agency had earlier reported that Iran hit a US warship with missiles, a claim that CENTCOM immediately denied. There was also a brief missile attack alert sent to mobile phones in the UAE on Monday afternoon, which was later lifted.
As of April 29, more than 900 commercial vessels were located in the Gulf, according to maritime intelligence firm AXSMarine.Speaking on Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran’s “priority is to end the war” but blamed the US for a lack of progress.
“The other side must commit to a reasonable approach and abandon its excessive demands,” he said. He had earlier said Washington had responded to the 14-point plan in a message to Pakistani mediators.
Oil prices jumped about 5 per cent on Monday and stocks fell as Iran escalated its military campaign. Brent futures LCOc1 rose $6.43, or 5.9 per cent, to $114.60, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 crude rose 4 per cent to $105.91.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that the US mission to restore maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz can help alleviate an ongoing oil shortage, adding that “help is on the way” for consumers. “They (Iran) are trying to cut off international freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and the US is opening that up,” Bessent told Fox News in an interview on Monday. “Help is on the way as of today,” Bessent said Monday. The market, because of the conflict around the strait, is in deficit of between eight and 10 million barrels of oil a day right now, Bessent added.
“Every crude carrier that goes through has about two million barrels,” he said.He expects there are “more than 150, 200 crude carriers that can come out,” and that the “market is going to be very well supplied.”
Bessent urged China to intensify its diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, adding that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss the subject when they meet next week. Bessent said China was buying 90 per cent of Iran’s energy, “so they are funding the largest state sponsor of terrorism.”
China’s Ministry of Commerce ordered companies not to comply with US sanctions against five independent refiners, including the recently designated Hengli Petrochemical 600346.SS, invoking for the first time a law that allows Beijing to retaliate against entities enforcing sanctions it deems unlawful.
An Israeli military official said that the army remained on high alert and was monitoring the situation. “The IDF (Israeli military) is closely monitoring the situation and remains on high alert... our air defence systems and offensive capabilities remain at a high state of readiness,” the official said in a statement sent to AFP.
Iran had “no plans” to target the United Arab Emirates, Iranian state television said on Monday, after the UAE accused the Islamic republic of fresh attacks.
The United Arab Emirates slammed the latest Iranian barrage targeting its country on Monday, calling the attacks a “dangerous escalation”. “These attacks represent a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression, posing a direct threat to the state’s security, stability, and the safety of its territories,” the UAE’s foreign ministry said in a statement. It added that the UAE “reserves its full and legitimate right to respond to these attacks”.
Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said that the world should prepare for the energy price and supply crisis stemming from the Iran war to potentially last longer.
Speaking to broadcaster tvnet, Bayraktar added that Turkey did not have any supply issues at the moment, but that certain developments regarding the Strait of Hormuz and the withdrawal of the United Arab Emirates from OPEC last month added to the uncertainties.
Any exit from OPEC as a “negative or vengeful reaction toward members is not constructive,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, commenting on the UAE’s decision to leave the oil producers’ group.
Baghaei added Iran would retain its commitments within OPEC and blamed the UAE for demonstrating “inappropirate behaviour” in assisting Israel and the US during the war against it.
Two people were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after a fire at a London memorial wall commemorating Iranians killed in anti-government protests, police said on Monday.
The wall in Golders Green in north London, where two Jewish men were stabbed this week, also commemorates victims of the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on Israel. The area is home to a large Jewish community.
Pope Leo XIV will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, the Vatican said, just weeks after the pontiff faced a barrage of criticism by President Donald Trump. “Secretary Rubio will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere,” the State Department said, confirming the Wednesday-Friday visit.
Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who was taken from jail to hospital last week, requires urgent specialised medical care to treat a life-threatening heart condition, her brother told Reuters on Monday.
Iran executed three men charged over protests this January, authorities said Monday, the latest in a wave of hangings of convicts seen by rights groups as political prisoners against the backdrop of the war against the United States and Israel.
Mehdi Rassouli, Mohammad Reza Miri and Ebrahim Dolatabadi were executed after being convicted over unrest in the eastern city of Mashhad in January, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency announced.
French President Emmanuel Macron urged the United States and Iran Monday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in a “coordinated” way. “What we want above all is a coordinated reopening by the United States and Iran -- that is the only solution for reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” Macron said at a meeting of European leaders in Armenia.
