US President Donald Trump has said on Monday, that the US Navy will begin guiding foreign ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported.
However, two American officials told Axios that, the new initiative will not necessarily see US Navy ships escorting commercial ships. Instead, one of the officials said, US Navy ships will be "in the vicinity" in case they are needed to protect the foreign ship from Iran's military.
The US Navy will also provide commercial ships with information on the best routes in the Strait, especially regarding lanes which were not mined by Iran.
On Sunday night, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its forces will begin supporting Trump’s "Project Freedom" to "restore freedom of navigation" in the Strait of Hormuz as of Monday.
"The mission, directed by the President, will support merchant vessels seeking to freely transit through the essential international trade corridor. A quarter of the world’s oil trade at sea and significant volumes of fuel and fertilizer products are transported through the strait," CENTCOM said in a statement.
"Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade," said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander.
Also on Sunday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the United States is intensifying financial pressure on Iran through escalating sanctions, frozen assets and a naval blockade, while forecasting a potential decline in oil prices as alternative supplies enter the market.
Bessent revealed that President Donald Trump directed the Treasury Department to unleash economic fury against the Iranian regime. American authorities are closely watching Iranian financial networks, offshore holdings and any efforts to channel funds to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
"The way to think about that [economic fury] - we were running a marathon over the past 12 months, and now we are sprinting towards the finish line… We are suffocating the regime, and they are not able to pay their soldiers," Bessent said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures."
The Treasury chief described a full-scale effort with all resources deployed, including a literal naval blockade and aggressive economic measures aimed at the IRGC, which he labeled a corrupt institution.
"They've been stealing from the Iranian people for years. They have money offshore. We've tracked that down. We will continue to track that down, and we're going to preserve those assets for the Iranian people on the other side of this conflict," he added.