Overview
- Project Freedom, announced Monday by President Trump, put U.S. warships and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz to help move stranded commercial vessels through the chokepoint.
- U.S. Central Command said it sank six Iranian small boats and shot down missiles and drones targeting shipping, while Iran denied losses and a state-linked outlet claimed a U.S. warship was hit, which the U.S. rejected.
- UAE authorities reported missiles and drones launched from Iran, with a fire at Fujairah’s oil zone injuring three Indian workers, and Oman said two people were hurt in an attack in Bukha near the strait.
- CENTCOM said two U.S.-flagged merchant ships transited the strait as the operation began, but Iran’s Revolutionary Guard denied any commercial crossings and issued new maps and rules asserting tighter control.
- Pakistan transferred 22 Iranian crew from the U.S.-seized MV Touska in a limited humanitarian step, as hundreds of ships and thousands of seafarers remain stuck and higher oil prices reflect the risk to a route that once carried about one-fifth of seaborne energy.