Iran issues threat after Trump plans to guide ships through Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Central Command says two U.S.-flagged vessels have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump announced "Project Freedom" on Monday.

"U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers are currently operating in the Arabian Gulf after transiting the Strait of Hormuz in support of Project Freedom. American forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping. As a first step, 2 U.S.-flagged merchant vessels have successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz and are safely headed on their journey," CENTCOM wrote in a post on X.

This is an excerpt from an opinion article by Dr. Rebecca Grant.

On Tuesday, U.S. Marines from USS Tripoli once again fast-roped from their MH-60 Seahawk helicopters onto the deck of a suspicious container ship named Blue Star III heading for Iran. That makes a total of 39 vessels turned back, boarded or seized since April 13.

"The blockade has been unbelievably effective," President Donald Trump said on Sunday. Economic pressure is the main point of the blockade, but it has military impact far beyond the Strait of Hormuz.

"We seized their sanctioned ships, and we will seize more," U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth briefed at the Pentagon on Friday, April 24.  "Our blockade is growing and going global," Hegseth added.

"Going global" is sending shockwaves through China. China imports at least 70% of its oil. Of that, 90% moves by sea. Iran alone supplied 14% of China’s imports last year, with Russia adding another 18%. Most of that oil was moved by shadow fleet tankers.

For all the talk of China’s growing naval power, this sea power phase of Operation Epic Fury is an incredible boost to deterrence in the Pacific. The tactics and joint force coordination on display are not something China can easily match. The web of air and maritime surveillance, intelligence, financial forensics and sheer audacity is something only America can pull off.

U.S. Central Command says Iran's claims that they struck a U.S. vessel with missiles in the Strait of Hormuz are propaganda and false.

CENTCOM spokesman Cpt. Tim Hawkins issued the denial in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday.

"They made this up. It's not true," Hawkins said.

Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency, which is tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, first reported claims of a missile strike early Monday morning.

They claimed two Iranian missiles hit an unidentified U.S. vessel near the port of Jask.

Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this report.

A surge in Somali piracy is fueling fears of a Red Sea "security vacuum" across the region as analysts warn of a revived maritime crime playbook, now linked to Iran-backed Houthis.

The warning follows a May 2 report from Yemen’s coast guard that armed men hijacked an oil tanker off Shabwa and steered it toward the Gulf of Aden, and the vessel has since been located with recovery efforts underway, Reuters reported.

"There is a fundamental shift in the maritime center of gravity amid a new phase of maritime instability in the region," Ido Shalev, chief operating officer at RTCOM Defense, told Fox News Digital.

"Somali and Houthi-linked groups are teaming up — using skiffs and new tech to strike ships with coordination not seen in a decade — while Saudi crude rerouted from the Strait of Hormuz has created a ‘target-rich environment for them,’" he added.

"There is an opportunistic alignment, with the Houthis providing geopolitical cover and advanced GPS and surveillance, and Somali groups providing the boots on the ground or skiffs on the water," Shalev said.

With the MT Eureka taken off Shabwa, Shalev, a former Israeli naval officer, suggested what he called the "Somali model" had returned "with a vengeance."

"This is a transactional collaboration, and in the exact area where the Houthis are active and would like to cause damage and support their IRGC sponsor," he said before describing how pirates would hijack the entire ship and cargo, taking them to a secure anchorage "like Qandala or Garacad."

"They then demand a ransom for the entire package: the vessel, the tens of millions of dollars in oil, and the crew," he said.

The surge in regional risk is also exacerbated, Shalev said, by the volatility of the Strait of Hormuz. As Iranian-backed threats persist in the Persian Gulf, global energy flows are shifting.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Emma Bussey.

Any U.S. interference in Tehran’s maritime rules in the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a violation of the current ceasefire, a senior Iranian lawmaker warned Sunday.

Ebrahim Azizi, the head of Iran’s Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, also said the key waterway was not the place for rhetoric.

“Any American interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire,” he said in a translated post shared on X.

“The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf would not be managed by Trump’s delusional posts!” he said.

“No one would believe Blame Game scenarios!” Azizi added.

“The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf are not a place for rhetoric,” Azizi said in another post.

Azizi’s remarks came after President Donald Trump announced “Project Freedom,” in which the U.S. military would begin guiding ships safely out of the strait starting Monday.

The announcement came after Trump expressed doubt about a 14-point peace plan proposed by Iran over the weekend.

Fox News' Emma Bussey contributed to this report.