US denies Iran struck Navy ship, launches Hormuz shipping operation

The U.S. military on Monday denied Iranian claims of striking an American Navy vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, as Washington launched "Project Freedom," a naval escort operation aimed at reopening the strategic waterway Iran has kept closed since the onset of war.

The standoff at one of the world's busiest oil corridors has trapped hundreds of commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf for weeks, threatening global energy supply chains — and contributing to rising fuel prices already felt at gas stations across Orange County and Southern California.

Iran's state media outlets, including Fars News Agency and Iranian Labour News Agency, claimed an Iranian strike on a U.S. Navy vessel near an Iranian port. The U.S. military rejected those accounts outright, according to The Korea Times.

"Project Freedom" establishes a protected shipping corridor in Omani territorial waters, allowing commercial vessels to transit the chokepoint under escort from guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and approximately 15,000 service members. President Donald Trump warned that any Iranian interference "will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully."

Iran's military struck a defiant tone. Maj. Gen. Pilot Ali Abdollahi, Iran's military commander, told state broadcaster IRIB: "We warn that any foreign military force — especially the aggressive U.S. military — that intends to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted."

Economic pressure on Tehran appears to be intensifying. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Sunday that Iran's toll revenue from vessel transits — collected since a U.S. naval blockade took effect April 13 and turned back 49 commercial ships — has barely registered. "We think that they've gotten less than $1.3 million in tolls, which is a pittance on their previous daily oil revenues," Bessent said. He added that Iran's oil storage is filling rapidly and that the country will likely "have to start shutting in wells, which we think could be in the next week."

In a sign of cautious diplomacy, Pakistan transferred 22 crew members from the seized Iranian container ship MV Touska to Iranian authorities as a confidence-building gesture. Tehran has put forward a 14-point proposal calling for sanctions relief, lifting of the naval blockade, withdrawal of foreign forces and a Lebanon ceasefire, with a 30-day window to resolve key disputes.

The ceasefire between the U.S. and Israel and Iran has held for more than three weeks, but with Iran threatening to target foreign military forces near the strait and hundreds of commercial crews still stranded in the Persian Gulf, the path to a diplomatic resolution remains far from certain.