The US government has launched a major military operation to rescue stranded commercial vessels from the Strait of Hormuz, in the wake of an attack on a bulk cargo ship,.
Which occurred shortly before the United States and Iran engaged in verbal sparring regarding their ongoing peace talks.
The president, Mr Donald Trump, revealed the mission, named ‘Project Freedom’ on Sunday evening through his social media handle, stating that it aimed to save ships belonging to countries not at war.
The operation would see the deployment of guided missile destroyers, over 100 aircrafts and more than 15,000 soldiers according to a statement from the US Central Command.
The news came on a day when UK Maritime Trade Operation reported that a north bound bulk carrier was attacked by several small vessels near Sirik which is located on the southern coast of Iran, roughly 11 nautical miles away.
All crew were stated to be fine while no damage to the environment was noted. However, Iran’s semi official Fars News Agency stated that the ship was only stopped for an inspection of its documents by the Iranian Navy.
Dueling proposals increase deadlock
The naval standoff has been accompanied by a diplomatic standoff that shows little sign of easing.
Iran this week passed a 14point proposal to Washington through Pakistan, demanding that the war end outright within 30 days, rather than a further extension of the fragile ceasefire that has been in place since early April.
Tehran’s plan calls for the lifting of sanctions by the United States, ending its naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdrawal of military forces from the region and ending all hostilities including Israeli operations in Lebanon.
However, on Saturday, Trump said that he would consider the proposition, but he left no room for optimism in his statement.
Speaking to journalists on the same day, President Trump said that he was mulling over different possibilities, including military actions, but did not make any decisions.
The standoff is hurting the global economy. The Strait of Hormuz normally accounts for some 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade and the effective closure of the waterway has sent crude prices soaring.
Brent crude eased slightly to around US$107.80 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate slipped to about US$101.30.
Only a few hours after the mission began on Monday morning in Middle East time, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported that two missiles had struck a US warship near the Jask Island after ignoring warnings issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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Meanwhile, the Iranian state TV made another statement that its navy had stopped American warships from passing through the strait.
As previously noted by a senior Iranian official, Iran views any US intervention into what it calls its maritime system in the strait as a breach of ceasefire and, therefore, expects its armed forces to react.
The current situation leaves less and less room for compromise between the two countries.
In its recent social media post, IRGC assessed President Trump’s two options as being an “impossible military operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
For all the people onboard their vessels stuck at the moment in this dangerous strait, these two options do not look like a way out yet.
