\u201cToday, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,\u201d said Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n The USS Frank E Peterson and the USS Michael Murphy are the guided-missile destroyers involved in the operation, but Centcom said that \u201cadditional US forces including underwater drones\u201d could join the effort in coming days.<\/p>\n Earlier, US media outlet Axios<\/em> reported that the operation was not coordinated with authorities in Tehran.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d Trump said on his Truth Social platform, calling it \u201ca favour\u201d to countries such as China, Japan and France that \u201cdon\u2019t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n He insisted that Iran is \u201cLOSING BIG!\u201d in the conflict, while acknowledging that Iranian mines in the strategic strait still pose a threat.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may \u2018bunk\u2019 into one of their sea mines,\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n The key shipping lane off the coast of Iran has been virtually blocked<\/a> by Tehran since the United States and Israel started bombing<\/a> Iran on February 28, though reopening the strait was ostensibly a condition of the ceasefire<\/a> put in place earlier this week.<\/p>\n Senior Iranian and American officials held face-to-face negotiations<\/a> in Islamabad on Saturday in a bid to bring an end to a conflict that has plunged the Middle East into violence and sent shockwaves through the world economy.<\/p>\n In an earlier post, Trump said that empty tankers were headed to the United States from around the world to purchase oil, without providing details.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/primary\/2026\/04\/11232608b59ca07.webp\")
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n