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President Donald Trump has announced a US-led operation called “Project Freedom” to guide stranded commercial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz starting today.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: If you’re unaware, the US-Israeli war on Iran kicked off February 28, and Iran responded by effectively shutting down commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz (the narrow waterway that handles about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas during peacetime). The US launched its own naval blockade on Iranian ports on April 13. Roughly 20,000 commercial sailors are currently trapped on stranded vessels in the Gulf, with growing concern over dwindling food and supplies and the toll on their physical and mental health. There have been at least two dozen attacks on commercial ships in and around the strait since the war started, including one Sunday morning when a cargo ship was hit by multiple small craft off Sirik, Iran (Iran denied the attack and said the ship had simply been stopped for a documents check).

What’s going on now: President Trump announced that the US would launch Project Freedom in a Truth Social post Sunday evening, saying countries with stranded ships had asked the US to step in. He said, “For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these 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.”

Trump framed the move as a humanitarian gesture and warned that any interference would “have to be dealt with forcefully.” He didn’t name which countries had asked for help. US Central Command said the initiative will involve 15,000 service members, guided-missile destroyers, and more than 100 aircraft, with Axios reporting that US Navy ships won’t necessarily be escorting commercial vessels but will stay “in the vicinity” in case Iran’s military tries to attack them.

Iran fired back almost immediately and called the operation a violation of the ceasefire. Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, warned in a post on X that any “American interference” in the strait would be considered a breach of the truce.

The announcement comes as both sides are still going back and forth on Iran’s latest peace proposal. Iran’s 14-point plan, sent through Pakistani mediators, calls for the US to lift sanctions, end the naval blockade, withdraw forces from the region, and stop all hostilities (including Israel’s operations in Lebanon). Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the proposal does not address Iran’s nuclear program, telling state media, “at this stage, we have no nuclear negotiations.”

Trump told reporters Saturday he doubted the proposal would lead to a deal, writing on Truth Social that the Iranians “have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years.” He also told the BBC over the weekend that resuming military strikes on Iran was “a possibility.”