A fresh drama unfolded on Saturday after reports emerged of a US Navy destroyer ship moving from the Fujairah Port in the UAE towards the Strait of Hormuz, even as the US and Iranian delegation began peace talks in Islamabad.
The news of the movement of the American vessel was met with an immediate warning from Iran: “Any US military vessel crossing the Hormuz Strait will be attacked within 30 minutes”. The rapid escalation in the Middle East was also communicated by the Iranian side to its delegation in Islamabad.
However, even as the tensions rose to a peak, the US vessel returned after Tehran’s warning. Barely two hours later, fresh reports from US media said two warships in fac crossed the strait without any coordination or permission from Tehran.
The development comes even as senior US and Iranian officials met in Islamabad for the highest-level talks between the two countries in over five decades as they sought to bring an end to their six-week war.
‘Clearing’ Strait of Hormuz
The brief escalation came shortly after Trump declared on Truth Social that the US has now started the process of “clearing out” the Strait of Hormuz as “a favour to the World”. He also said all 28 of Iran’s mine-dropping ships had been sunk.
Hours after Trump’s social media post, two US warships reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz, The Wall Street Journal reported. The US Navy guided-missile destroyers passed through the narrow strait with no issues reported, the report said, citing three US officials.
A US official also confirmed to Axios that several Navy ships had crossed the Strait of Hormuz. However, Iranian state TV denied that any US vessel had passed through the narrow passage.
What Trump said
Trump, who was at the White House, first fired a claim of Iran “losing big” on his Truth Social account. In the post, he claimed that “the only thing they (Iran) have going is the threat that a ship may ‘bunk’ into one of their sea mines” in the Strait of Hormuz. He then said “all 28 of their mine dropper boats are also lying at the bottom of the sea”.
“We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz,” he declared, “as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others. Incredibly, they don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.”
