US Navy destroyers USS Truxtun and USS Mason came under attack from Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz. CBS News reported the incident, citing anonymous sources in the US armed forces.
According to those sources, the ships were hit in a co-ordinated assault involving speedboats, missiles, and drones. The attack was intense, but the destroyers were not damaged, the broadcaster’s interlocutors said. They added that the US ships, accompanied by Apache helicopters, passed safely through the strait and entered the Persian Gulf.
The transit was part of Donald Trump’s administration’s new initiative, known as “Project Freedom”: the US Navy is to ensure safe passage for commercial vessels stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command had earlier said that American forces shot down Iranian missiles and drones aimed both at their own ships and at the commercial vessels they were escorting through the strait. The head of Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, also said that seven Iranian boats had been destroyed. The department provided no further details.
Iran had earlier said it viewed “Project Freedom” as a violation of the ceasefire and would attack any American ships entering the strait. Trump responded by threatening that Iran would be “wiped off the face of the earth” if it continued attacking US convoys.
Tehran blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in early March, one of the main reasons behind the sharp jump in global oil prices. Before the war, up to 20% of global oil transit passed through the strait.