Iran-US war latest: Trump says Iran will be ‘blown off the face of the Earth’ if US ships are targeted in Strait of Hormuz – The Independent
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The US president vowed to free commercial ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz as part of so-called ‘Project Freedom’
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Iran has warned that the United States risks being “dragged into quagmire” as renewed hostilities threaten to derail peace efforts.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that talks via mediator Pakistan were “making progress” in comments on social media last night, urging that a military solution will not resolve the political crisis.
“The US should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers. So should the UAE. Project Freedom is Project Deadlock,” he added.
Trump earlier on Monday launched his ‘Project Freedom’ operation to assist stuck ships through the Strait, warning Iran with a forceful response if it tried to interfere.
Before the day was out, several merchant ships reported explosions or fires in the Gulf, the US said it had destroyed six small Iranian military boats, and an oil port in the UAE was set ablaze by Iranian missiles.
The US military said that two merchant ships had made it through the Strait with the support of Navy guided-missile destroyers. Iran denied any crossings had taken place in recent hours.
Donald Trump said Iran will “be blown off the face of the earth” if U.S. vessels guiding ships through the Strait of Hormuz are attacked, escalating his existential threats to Iran as the countries test a tenuous ceasefire during the weeks-long war.
U.S. military officials said Iran launched missiles, drones and small boats at ships sailing through the passage with U.S. support Monday. Six small Iranian boats were targeting civilian vessels, according to U.S. officials.
If Iranians continue to target commercial ships during the so-called Project Freedom escort operation, the Iranian regime will “be blown off the face of the earth,” Trump told Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst Monday.
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Donald Trump has warned that Iran could be “blown off the face of the earth” if US vessels are attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, as tensions in the region continue to escalate.
His remarks came after Washington launched “Project Freedom” to assist hundreds of ships stranded in the Gulf.
Trump claimed US forces had destroyed seven small Iranian boats, a claim that Tehran denied.
Trump described the ongoing US naval effort as “one of the greatest military manoeuvres ever done”.
Meanwhile, US Central Command denied Iranian claims that two Iranian missiles struck a US warship intending to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Semi-official state news agency Fars said the warship was turned back after it was struck while sailing near Jask island, after Tehran earlier warned it would attack any US boats that entered the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said that “Project Freedom” aimed to “free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong”.Iran had afterwards warned that “any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive US army, will be attacked” if they approach the Strait.
Donald Trump on Sunday vowed that the United States would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to foreign shipping, following desperate pleas from other countries.
The president said ‘Project Freedom’ would start on Monday morning, ‘Middle East time’, to “free up people, companies and countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong” while talks are ongoing with Iran.
He renewed his threats to Iran that “if, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully”.
Before Monday was out, several merchant ships in the Gulf reported explosions or fires, the US said it had destroyed six small Iranian military boats, and an oil port in the United Arab Emirates, which hosts a large US military base, was set ablaze by Iranian missiles.
Hostilities reopened two days after the legal deadline under US law had passed for Trump to get authorisation from Congress for the war. Trump told Congress the war was “terminated” and the deadline was moot, disputed by some lawmakers.
It emerged this morning that South Korea is now considering joining the initiative to reopen the Strait, according to officials, after Trump blamed an Iranian attack for a fire on a South Korean-operated ship.
Asian stock markets saw declines on Tuesday, mirroring losses on Wall Street as US equities retreated from recent record highs. Oil prices, after an earlier surge, fell back amid escalating tensions in the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran.
The fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran faced significant challenges on Monday. The US military reported sinking six Iranian small boats, which it claimed were targeting civilian vessels.
Concurrently, two US-flagged ships successfully navigated the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil and gas transport that remains largely closed despite repeated US demands for its reopening. The United States has also imposed a sea blockade on Iranian ports, and US President Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom” plan, designed to guide stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz, commenced on Monday.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf has said that the ongoing crisis at the Strait of Hormuz is “intolerable” for the US and warned that Iran had “not even begun yet”.
“The new equation of the Strait of Hormuz is in the process of being solidified,” he wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.
“The security of shipping and energy transit has been jeopardised by the United States and its allies through the violation of the ceasefire and the imposition of a blockade; of course, their evil will diminish.
“We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet.”
A fire has broken out across several commercial vessels docked at Iran’s southern port of Dayyer, semi-official Mehr News Agency reported on Tuesday.
It said that the firefighters were working to contain the blaze.
The cause of the incident remains unknown.
India’s ministry of external affairs has described the attack on the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah, which injured three Indian nationals, as “unacceptable” in a post on X.
“We call for immediate cessation of these hostilities and the targeting of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians,” the ministry said, referring to the drone strike on the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone that the UAE said was carried out by Iran.
Earlier, the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted several missiles and drones, believed to have originated from Iran, on Monday and called them a “dangerous escalation” and a clear violation of international law.
Donald Trump has declined to confirm whether the US ceasefire with Iran is still in effect after both sides reported fresh exchanges in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking on The Hugh Hewitt Show, he was asked if the pause in hostilities was over and whether strikes would resume, but replied: “Well, I can’t tell you that.”
He added: “If I answered that question, you’d say this man is not smart enough to be president.”
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