Roving Periscope: Iran will be “blown off the face of Earth,” threatens Trump
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: A day after launching “Project Freedom,” US President Donald Trump on Monday said Iran will be “blown off the face of the Earth” if it attacks US vessels escorting stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump’s statement to Fox News came as Iran reportedly attacked some ships being guided through the narrow waterway under the project launched by the US Central Command at the US President’s directive, the media reported on Tuesday.
He said the US military buildup in the region is continuing. “We have more weapons and ammunition at a much higher grade than we had before,” Trump said.
“We have the best equipment. We have stuff all over the world. We have these bases all over the world. They’re all stocked up with equipment. We can use all of that stuff, and we will, if we need it,” Trump said.
According to the US Central Command, which is overseeing military activity in the area, Sea Hawk and Apache attack helicopters “were used to eliminate Iranian small boats threatening commercial shipping.”
Authorities in Washington maintained that the vessels were neutralised while they were “attempting to interfere with commercial shipping.” The strike took place as part of broader US efforts directed at the “reopen the strait” mission to ensure the unhindered flow of international trade.
The Strait of Hormuz has emerged as an inflexion point in the conflict in West Asia, serving as a volatile backdrop for these conflicting narratives.
The latest developments come as US Centcom announced its forces will begin supporting Project Freedom on May 4 to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The mission will support merchant vessels seeking to freely transit through the essential international trade corridor.
He claimed on his private social media platform Truth Social that Iran had attacked some ships, including a South Korean cargo vessel, being guided through the Strait that has effectively remained closed since the conflict with Iran began on February 28.
“Iran has taken some shots at unrelated Nations with respect to the Ship Movement, PROJECT FREEDOM, including a South Korean Cargo Ship. Perhaps it’s time for South Korea to come and join the mission,” Trump said.
He said the US forces have shot down seven small boats and urged South Korea to join the mission in the Strait.
“We’ve shot down seven small Boats or, as they like to call them, ‘fast’ Boats. It’s all they have left. Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, will have a News Conference tomorrow (Tuesday) morning,” the President added.
Fragile ceasefire
The fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran threatened to end on Monday after clashes involving shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and missile attacks against the United Arab Emirates.
Relative calm returned to the Persian Gulf after the US and Iranian forces exchanged fire on Monday and Tehran launched missiles and drones toward the UAE, in the worst flareup since the ceasefire began on April 8.
The violence erupted after Trump announced “Project Freedom,” which he described as a ‘humanitarian effort’ to guide neutral ships stranded in the Persian Gulf through Hormuz. At least two merchant vessels transited the waterway with US assistance in fending off attacks, while two American warships entered the Gulf.
Iran warned all ships against trying to get through Hormuz without its permission. It hit a South Korean bulk carrier and attacked an empty tanker belonging to the UAE’s state oil firm, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. There were no reports of injuries on either ship.
The American military fought off attacks from Iranian drones, missiles and armed small boats as it facilitated the passage of the two merchant vessels, US Central Command chief Brad Cooper said late on Monday, the media reported.
The developments came amid an impasse between Iran and the US, with the two sides showing little sign of agreeing to a fresh round of peace talks soon. Tehran insists Washington must lift a naval blockade on its ports for that to happen. The US says the blockade is choking Iran’s oil exports and squeezing its economy, forcing it into concessions.
The UAE said it intercepted almost all the roughly 20 projectiles fired from Iran, the first such attack on the Arab country since the truce kicked in. Yet three Indians were injured in a strike on an oil terminal part-owned by Vitol Group at the port city of Fujairah. Missile alerts were sent to people in cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and authorities announced distance learning at schools for the rest of the week.
“Events in Hormuz make clear that there’s no military solution to a political crisis,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. “The US should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers. So should the UAE.”
Iran claims 5 deaths
Iranian state media countered the US claims regarding a recent military engagement in the Strait of Hormuz, asserting that the vessels targeted were civilian craft rather than military boats.
Reports indicate that the six “so-called Iranian small boats” fired upon by US forces on Monday were not associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Instead, Tehran maintains that they were civilian vessels transporting passengers and commercial goods.
A military official told the Tasnim news agency that an investigation was launched by Iranian authorities following Washington’s reports of the incident. The probe allegedly concluded that US forces had “attacked and fired upon two small cargo boats carrying civilians that were moving from Khasab on the coast of Oman towards the Iranian coast.”
He criticised the American military’s response, characterising the strike as an overreaction to the regional presence of Iranian naval forces. “This hasty and clumsy behaviour by the enemy stems from the excessive fear and nightmare of the US military regarding the IRGC’s fast-boat operations.”
The US, however, claimed that it was a ‘defensive action.’ American military forces targeted “Iranian small boats” during the engagement on Monday, as part of an ongoing mission to secure critical maritime corridors.
