![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/9615811-e1777898052763.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The months-long standoff over the Strait of Hormuz has reached a potentially decisive moment with the U.S. military engaged in combat in the contested waterway to help commercial ships exit the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n
Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper said Monday that U.S. forces destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones.<\/p>\n
He added that the naval blockade on Iranian ships remains in effect and \u201cstrongly advised\u201d Iranian forces to stay away from the U.S. military as guides ships through the strait. <\/p>\n
Central Command also said two Navy destroyers are currently operating in the Gulf after transiting the strait, adding that two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels are safely under way.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping,\u201d it announced in a post on X.<\/p>\n
That came a day after President Donald Trump announced Project Freedom, a U.S. effort to guide ships from \u201cneutral and innocent\u201d countries out of the Strait of Hormuz, warning that any interference will \u201chave to be dealt with forcefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. stock indexes sold off as fighting erupted again in the Middle East with the United Arab Emirates also reporting renewed attacks from Iran. U.S. oil futures jumped 3.5% to $105.55 per barrel, and Brent crude surged 5.7% to $114.35.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Monday, Iranian state media claimed that Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit a U.S. warship with two missiles. But Central Command said no U.S. Navy ships were struck.<\/p>\n
Iran also said it told the U.S. Navy to stay out of the Strait of Hormuz and fired a warning shot at a warship to prevent its entry.<\/p>\n
Sources told Axios there\u2019s currently no plan for full-fledged naval escorts, though U.S. warships and aircraft are nearby to support Project Freedom.<\/p>\n
The rules of engagement for U.S. forces in the region have also changed to allow strikes on immediate threats against ships crossing the strait, such as IRGC fast-attack boats or Iranian missile batteries, the report said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president wants action. He doesn\u2019t want to sit still. He wants pressure. He wants a deal,\u201d a senior U.S. official told Axios.<\/p>\n
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has been Iran\u2019s top source of leverage since the U.S. and Israel launched their war in late February. With one-fifth of the world\u2019s oil and liquid natural gas unable to reach customers, the global economy has suffered its worst energy crisis ever.<\/p>\n
While the U.S. helped two merchant vessels through the strait, most shipping companies are reluctant to follow along until fighting has ceased. That means energy flows will not get back to normal anytime soon.<\/p>\n
But until now, the IRGC had maintained a tight grip over the Strait of Hormuz, demanding tolls from ships that seek to transit and threatening to attack if its conditions aren\u2019t met.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, a\u00a0cargo ship near the\u00a0Strait of Hormuz\u00a0said it was attacked\u00a0by multiple small boats, marking the first such incident since April 22. While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the IRGC is known to use small fast-attack boats to assert control over the strait.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the U.S. military continues to enforce a naval blockade on Iran to keep its oil exports bottled up and add economic pressure.<\/p>\n
The Navy has already tested the waters in the strait, by very visibly\u00a0sending two destroyers through the chokepoint\u00a0last month despite warnings from the IRGC.<\/p>\n
That was also when Navy warships started conducting anti-mine operations in the Strait of Hormuz, though it could take weeks or months to completely eliminate the threats.<\/p>\n
Before then, U.S. warships avoided the strait as Navy officials previously have described it as an\u00a0Iranian \u201ckill box\u201d\u00a0filled with numerous threats, including anti-ship missiles, drones, fast-attack boats, and mines.<\/p>\n
#Battle #Hormuz #begins #military #fights #Iranian #attacks #break #regimes #hold #strait<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The months-long standoff over the Strait of Hormuz has reached a potentially decisive moment with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[245],"tags":[2378,2362,4747,3181,9749,162,504,376,1133,859,8189,503,8090,790],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5504"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5504\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}