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Two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, marking Project Freedom’s first tangible result as guided-missile destroyers entered the Arabian Gulf to escort the operation, U.S. Central Command announced.
"As a first step, two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels have successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz and are safely headed on their journey," CENTCOM stated on X.
CENTCOM confirmed that U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers are currently operating in the Arabian Gulf after themselves transiting the Strait of Hormuz in support of Project Freedom.
American forces are "actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping," the command said.
The destroyer transit and the successful merchant ship passage came hours after Iran's military issued explicit warnings that any U.S. vessels entering the strait would be attacked, and after conflicting claims emerged over whether Iranian forces had fired on U.S. naval assets, claims CENTCOM denied.
Trump announced Project Freedom on Sunday, describing it as a humanitarian gesture for neutral countries whose ships have been stranded in the Gulf for more than two months.
CENTCOM committed 15,000 service members, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, guided-missile destroyers and multi-domain unmanned platforms to the effort.
The U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering retaliation from Tehran against Israel, as well as U.S. allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Since April 13, the U.S. has enforced a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic in the strategic waterway.
A two-week ceasefire was announced on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, followed by direct talks in Islamabad on April 11, but no agreement was reached on a lasting truce.
U.S. President Donald Trump later extended the ceasefire without setting a new deadline, following a request from Pakistan.
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