The destroyers USS Truxtun and USS Mason, with the support of Apache helicopters and other aircraft, faced a series of coordinated threats during their movement through the Strait of Hormuz, unnamed US defense officials revealed.
Iran has deployed small boats, missiles and drones targeting US warships in a prolonged series of attacks. Despite the high intensity of the attack, no US ships were hit.
US military officials added that defense measures, strengthened by air support, have intercepted or successfully prevented any threats approaching US warships. No bullets or weapons fired touched the ships, US officials affirmed.
The successful passage of 2 US destroyers through the Strait of Hormuz took place after President Donald Trump announced on May 3 that the US would help guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Hundreds of oil tankers and other ships have been trapped in the Persian Gulf since the US began its offensive against Iran in late February.
The US Army Central Command informed that US destroyers passed through the Strait of Hormuz within the framework of the Freedom Project initiative. However, the US military did not specify how many ships participated.
The US Central Command also said that 2 US-flagged merchant ships have successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz, and the military has contacted dozens of other shipping lines to "encourage traffic".
Admiral Brad Cooper - Commander of the US Central Command - said that Iran attacked US naval and commercial ships passing through the strait, forcing the US to destroy 6 Iranian small boats. Iranian state media denied that these boats were destroyed and said that recently no commercial ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran warned US forces would be attacked if they entered the strait, raising concerns about the future of a 4-week ceasefire between the two countries.
Also on May 4, Iran launched missiles and drones into the United Arab Emirates. An Iranian drone aimed at an oil tanker of the state-owned energy company Abu Dhabi that was trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian media reported that a US warship was also hit by a missile, but the US Central Command denied this information.
Meanwhile, the US is implementing naval blockades of Iranian ports to put pressure while the two sides exchange proposals for a longer-term peace agreement. Iran called this blockade action a violation of the ceasefire.
