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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — <\/span>The United States kicked off an effort to \u201cguide\u201d stranded ships from the Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, as it tries to counter economic disruptions that outlasted the peak of fighting with no peace deal in sight.<\/p>\n A day after U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> announced what he called \u201cProject Freedom,\u201d the Joint Maritime Information Center said Monday that the U.S. had set up an \u201cenhanced security area\u201d south of typical shipping routes and urged mariners to coordinate closely with Omani authorities \u201cdue to anticipated high traffic volume.\u201d The strait sits between Iranian and Omani territory.<\/p>\n The center warned that passing close to the usual routes, known as the traffic separation scheme, \u201cshould be considered extremely hazardous due the presence of mines that have not been fully surveyed and mitigated.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.S.-led maritime task force\u2019s announcement marked the start of the effort to revive traffic and restore confidence among commercial vessels transiting the strait. <\/p>\n The disruption of the waterway through which roughly one\u2011fifth of the world\u2019s oil typically passes has become one of the most enduring consequences of the war that the U.S. and Israel launched Feb. 28. It has squeezed countries in Europe and Asia that depend on Persian Gulf supplies and added new volatility to energy prices for households and businesses worldwide.<\/p>\n Announcing the ship shepherding effort in a social media post Sunday, Trump promised \u201cneutral and innocent\u201d countries “that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Central Command said the initiative would involve guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 service members. The Pentagon did not immediately answer questions about how they would be deployed. <\/p>\n Ships and seafarers, many on oil and gas tankers and cargo ships, have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war began. Crew members have described to The Associated Press<\/a> seeing intercepted drones and missiles explode over the waters as their vessels run low on drinking water, food and other supplies.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are victims of circumstance,\u201d Trump wrote, describing the effort as a humanitarian gesture \u201con behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern Countries but, in particular, the Country of Iran.\u201d <\/p>\n Trump also sounded a warning: \u201cIf, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.\u201d<\/p>\n As more ships reported coming under attack Sunday, Iran\u2019s state-run IRNA news agency called Trump’s announcement part of his \u201cdelirium.\u201d Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission of Iran’s parliament, said on X that any interference in the strait would be seen as a ceasefire violation.<\/p>\n Trump spoke hours after Iran said it was reviewing the U.S. response to its latest proposal to end the war and made clear these are not nuclear negotiations. The fragile three-week ceasefire<\/a> appears to be holding.<\/p>\n Tehran is reviewing the U.S. response to its latest proposal to end the war, Iran\u2019s judiciary Mizan news agency cited Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei saying Sunday.<\/p>\n But \u201cat this stage, we have no nuclear negotiations,\u201d Baghaei said. Iran\u2019s nuclear program and enriched uranium<\/a> have long been the central issue in tensions with the U.S., but Tehran would rather address it later.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s proposal wants other issues resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire, according to Iran\u2019s state-linked media. Trump on Saturday said he was reviewing the proposal but expressed doubt it would lead to a deal.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s 14-point proposal calls for the U.S. lifting sanctions on Iran, ending the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdrawing forces from the region and ceasing all hostilities, including Israel\u2019s operations in Lebanon, according to the semiofficial Nour News and Tasnim agencies, which have close ties to Iran’s security organizations.<\/p>\n Iranian officials have vowed the strait won’t return to its prewar conditions and moved to impose charges on transiting ships, but the U.S. has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions for paying Iran in any form.<\/p>\n The U.S. naval blockade since April 13 is depriving Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy<\/a>. The U.S. Central Command on Sunday said 49 commercial ships have been told to turn back.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think that they\u2019ve gotten less than $1.3 million in tolls, which is a pittance on their previous daily oil revenues,\u201d U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Sunday, adding that Iran’s oil storage is rapidly filling up and “they\u2019re going to have to start shutting in wells, which we think could be in the next week.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n