US Guided-Missile Destroyers Open Strait of Hormuz Route After Iran Fires Missiles and Drones

The United States launched “Project Freedom” to open a route through the Strait of Hormuz for ships stranded in the Gulf, with U.S. guided-missile destroyers operating in the Arabian Gulf after transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Al-Monitor reported that “US Apache and MH-60 helicopters sank six Iranian fast boats near the strait on Monday,” as the two sides traded fire and the ceasefire’s durability was questioned.

Al Jazeera

The Al-Monitor account said the Pentagon’s top commander in the region, Adm. Brad Cooper, told reporters on Monday, “We've now opened a passage through the Strait of Hormuz to allow for the free flow of commerce to proceed,” describing the mission as “inherently defensive.”

Al Jazeera reported that Iran’s military warned the United States Navy to stay out of the strait after Trump said the U.S. would “help free up” ships stuck in the Gulf, with Ali Abdollahi saying US forces would be attacked if they entered the strait.

CNBC and BBC both focused on the immediate dispute over whether a U.S. warship was struck, with CENTCOM stating, “No U.S. Navy ships have been struck,” and BBC repeating that “no US Navy ships have been struck.”

In parallel, CENTCOM said “American forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping,” and that “2 U.S.-flagged merchant vessels have successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz,” according to CNBC and BBC.

The operation unfolded against a background of a fragile ceasefire and competing claims about who was violating it, with Al Jazeera describing how Iran viewed any U.S. intervention as a breach.

Al Jazeera quoted reporting from Tehran by Resul Serdar Atas, saying the ceasefire “came into effect on April 8” and that “any US intervention in the Strait of Hormuz would be viewed by Iran as a violation of the ceasefire.”

Al Jazeera

In the same report, Atas said, “The Iranians are quite clear. They are saying they’re going to respond and engage militarily. And in such a case, that will be the end of the ceasefire.”

Al-Monitor similarly framed the launch as a test of the ceasefire, describing how “Iran has interfered” over the preceding “12 hours” and how the IRGC launched “multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at ships we are protecting.”

Al-Monitor also said the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain acknowledged publicly on Monday that it had been mined by Iran, while a U.S. advisory urged ships to “hug the Omani coast” and remain within Oman’s territorial waters.

BBC added that the move came as the two countries observed a temporary ceasefire that began on “8 April,” while the U.S. denied Iranian claims of missile strikes on a warship.

As the operation began, both sides issued warnings and traded claims about attacks, with multiple outlets quoting the language used by senior officials.

Al Jazeera reported that Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran’s unified command, said in a statement on Monday that “US forces will be attacked if they enter the strait,” and it quoted the warning: “We warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive US army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz.”

The same Al Jazeera report said Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency later claimed “two missiles hit a US warship at the southern end of the Strait of Hormuz,” while the U.S. denied that a warship had been struck.

CNBC and BBC both carried CENTCOM denials that directly contradicted the Iranian claim, with CENTCOM saying, “No U.S. Navy ships have been struck,” and BBC reporting, “The US has denied an Iranian media report that one of its warships was struck.”

Al-Monitor added that Adm. Brad Cooper described the mission as “inherently defensive” and said the U.S. had “defeated each and every one of those threats through the clinical application of defensive munitions.”

In parallel, Trump used Truth Social to frame the operation as a humanitarian effort, writing, “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,” and he added, “If, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.”

The operation’s stated scope and the guidance given to commercial shipping were central to how the standoff played out, with multiple outlets describing both the military resources and the navigation advice.

Al-Monitor said more than “100 land- and sea-based aircraft” were involved and that “15,000 US military personnel” were part of the effort, while also noting that Iran still retained “short-range ballistic missiles that can threaten vessels in and around Hormuz.”

Al-Jazeera Net

Al-Monitor reported that the U.S. Navy was coaching commercial shipping personnel on safe navigation through the strait and that the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain acknowledged publicly that the strait had been mined by Iran.

It also quoted the advisory urging ships to “hug the Omani coast” and remain within Oman’s territorial waters, while warning that the main channel “should be considered extremely hazardous due to the presence of mines that have not been fully surveyed and mitigated.”

The Marine News Magazine account said CENTCOM described the mission as supporting President Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom,” aimed to “guide out” commercial ships stranded in the Gulf, and it said “American forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping.”

BBC and CNBC both said two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels had “successfully transited” the strait, with BBC adding that CENTCOM did not provide the names of the vessels.

The stakes described across the reporting extended from immediate safety for crews to longer-term diplomatic and economic pressure, with outlets tying the operation to the continuing blockade and the risk of escalation.

Al Jazeera said the tensions were rising after Iran submitted a “14-point proposal to end the war,” and it reported that the UKMTO said the maritime security threat level remained “critical” due to ongoing military operations.

Al-Monitor

It also quoted Harlan Ullman, chairman of the Killowen Group and a former US naval officer, warning that Trump’s plan could lead to “a dangerous escalation,” saying, “Iran has huge amounts of drones and small craft that could make this very, very difficult,” and “I would hate to see a confrontation where an American warship is hit because then the Americans will have no other option except to retaliate.”

The Guardian similarly framed the operation as raising the stakes “back to the brink of full-scale war,” and it reported that “More than 850 ships are estimated to have been trapped in the Gulf since the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran on 28 February,” with “an estimated 20,000 sailors” stuck on vessels.

CNBC and BBC both tied the situation to the broader war and energy disruption, with CNBC noting that the de facto closure had triggered “a historic energy supply shock” and that “about 20% of the world's oil was shipped” through the strait prior to the conflict's start.

In the diplomatic track, BBC reported that Iran’s 14-point peace plan asked for Washington to withdraw its forces from near Iran’s borders and end its naval blockade of Iranian ports, and that Trump reportedly told Israel’s Kan News on Sunday that the proposal was unacceptable.