President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States will begin escorting foreign commercial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, describing the effort as a “humanitarian” operation aimed at helping neutral countries whose vessels have been caught in the widening Middle East conflict.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said multiple countries asked the United States for assistance in freeing ships trapped in the strategic waterway, even though those nations were not involved in the fighting.
“Countries from all over the World, almost all of which are not involved in the Middle Eastern dispute … have asked the United States if we could help free up their Ships,” Trump wrote. He said the vessels belonged to “neutral and innocent bystanders” caught by circumstances beyond their control.
Trump said U.S. forces would guide the ships safely out of “restricted waterways” so they could resume commerce, adding that the effort would begin “Monday morning, Middle East time.” He referred to the operation as “Project Freedom.”
According to Trump, many of the ships are running low on food and supplies needed for large crews to remain onboard in “healthy and sanitary” conditions. He framed the mission as a goodwill gesture by the United States and regional partners, including Iran.
“This is a Humanitarian gesture on behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern Countries but, in particular, the Country of Iran,” Trump wrote. He warned, however, that any interference with the operation “will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.”
The announcement comes as diplomatic contacts continue between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s latest peace proposal.
Iran is reviewing the U.S. response to its proposal, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry, though the United States has not formally confirmed submitting a reply. U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff told CNN that conversations between the two sides are ongoing.
On Saturday, the president said he was reviewing Iran’s proposal but suggested it was unlikely to be accepted. In a separate social media post, he wrote that Iran “has not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years.”
Speaking briefly with reporters while boarding Air Force One, Trump declined to outline specific conditions for resuming U.S. military strikes but said further action remained possible if Iran “misbehave[s].”
In Sunday’s social media post Trump said “Project Freedom” is separate from military escalation and intended solely to protect civilians, businesses and nations uninvolved in the fighting.
“The Ship movement is merely meant to free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong,” he wrote. “They are victims of circumstance.”