Trump says US to help ships stranded in Strait of Hormuz as tanker hit by projectiles

Highlights:
- US to start operation to aid stranded ships, Trump says
- Tanker reported to have been hit by projectile in Strait of Hormuz
- Iran wants end to US blockade; nuclear talks postponed
- Trump has made Iran nuclear deal a priority
A tanker reported being
hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime security
organisation said on Monday, shortly after President Donald Trump said the US
would start helping free ships stranded in the Gulf by the US-Israeli war on
Iran.
Trump provided
few details about the plan, which he said would start on Monday to aid ships
and their crews that have been "locked up" in the vital waterway and
are running low on food and other supplies.
"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 said in a post on his Truth Social site.
Hundreds of
ships and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been unable to transit the strait
during the conflict, according to the International Maritime Organization.
US Central
Command said it would support the effort with 15,000 US military personnel,
more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft along with warships and drones. The
operation aims to "restore freedom of navigation for commercial
shipping" through the strait, CENTCOM said in a statement.
"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.
Soon after Trump's comments, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations
agency said a tanker had reported being hit by unknown projectiles in the
Strait.
UKMTO said all
crew were reported safe in the incident, which occurred 78 nautical miles north
of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates.
Iran has been
blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf apart from its own for more than two
months, sending energy prices soaring. Some vessels attempting to transit the
Strait have reported being fired on, and Iran seized several other ships. Last
month, the US imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports.
Iran reviewing US response on
peace proposal
Iranian state
media reported that Washington had conveyed its response to Iran's 14-point
proposal via Pakistan, and that Tehran was now reviewing it. There was no
immediate confirmation from Washington or Islamabad of the US response.
"At this
stage, we do not have nuclear negotiations," state media quoted Iran's
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying, an apparent reference
to Iran's proposal to set aside talks on nuclear issues until after the war has
ended and the foes have agreed to lift opposing blockades of Gulf shipping.
On Saturday,
Trump said he had yet to review the exact wording of the Iranian peace
proposal, but that he was likely to reject it.
The United
States 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.
Iran's proposal vs Washington's
demands
The proposal
to delay talks on nuclear issues until a later phase would appear at odds with
Washington's repeated demand that Iran accept stringent restrictions on its
nuclear programme before the war can end.
Washington
wants Tehran to give up its stockpile of more than 400 kg (900 pounds) of
highly enriched uranium, which the United States says could be used to make a
bomb. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful although it is willing to
discuss some curbs in return for the lifting of sanctions. It had accepted such
curbs in a 2015 deal that Trump abandoned.
While saying
repeatedly he is in no hurry, Trump is under domestic pressure to break Iran's
hold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has choked off 20% of the world's oil and
gas supplies and pushed up US gasoline prices. Trump's Republican Party faces
the risk of a voter backlash over higher prices in midterm congressional
elections in November.
Iranian media
said Tehran's 14-point proposal includes withdrawing US forces from nearby
areas, lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, paying compensation,
lifting sanctions, ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon, and creating
a new control mechanism for the strait.
















