Trump Orders Navy to Hormuz as Iran Deal Stalls
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- Trump ordered 'Project Freedom,' under which the U.S. Navy starting Monday will advise U.S.-flagged and commercial ships on crossing the Strait of Hormuz, with no current plan for full-fledged naval escorts
- CENTCOM said military support will include guided-missile destroyers, drones, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, and 15,000 troops, and that U.S. forces have been authorized to strike immediate threats like IRGC fast boats or Iranian missile positions
- CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper presented Trump on Thursday night with a more aggressive plan to send Navy ships through the strait by force, but Trump opted at the last minute for a more cautious approach — though rules of engagement were subsequently changed
- Iran attacked vessels trying to pass through the strait almost every day over the past week, according to U.S. officials; Iranian parliament national security chairman Ebrahim Azizi warned that any American interference 'will be considered a violation of the ceasefire'
- Iran's armed forces on Monday called on commercial ships and tankers to refrain from passing through the strait without coordination with the Iranian military; Iran's Fars news agency claimed two Iranian missiles hit a U.S. Navy ship, which CENTCOM denied, saying U.S. forces are 'enforcing the naval blockade on Iranian ports'
- Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are still exchanging draft proposals with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, though one official said 'we still don't know the status of the [supreme leader]' with messages being hand-carried, and Witkoff's optimism is contradicted by other senior officials
- A senior U.S. official framed the choice bluntly: 'It's either we're looking at the real contours of an achievable deal soon, or he's going to bomb the hell out of them'
Why it matters: The operation gives Trump a pressure lever short of full war while preserving the option to escalate — if Iran strikes at U.S.-backed ships in the strait, the White House has already pre-staged the narrative ('if the Iranians do something, they will be the bad guys and we will have the legitimacy to act'). With 15,000 troops, guided-missile destroyers, and 100+ aircraft positioned, the 'humanitarian' framing doubles as the trigger condition for a much larger confrontation that a source close to the president calls 'the beginning of a process that could lead to a confrontation.'
