US war latest: Trump says Iran will be ‘blown off the face of the Earth’ if US ships are targeted

The US president vowed to free commercial ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz as part of so-called ‘Project Freedom’
Donald Trump has warned that Iran could be “blown off the face of the earth” if US vessels are attacked in the Strait of Hormuz , as tensions in the region continue to escalate.

His remarks came after Washington launched “Project Freedom” to assist hundreds of ships stranded in the Gulf.

Trump claimed US forces had destroyed seven small Iranian boats, a claim that Tehran denied.

Trump described the ongoing US naval effort as “one of the greatest military manoeuvres ever done”.

Meanwhile, US Central Command denied Iranian claims that two Iranian missiles struck a US warship intending to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Semi-official state news agency Fars said the warship was turned back after it was struck while sailing near Jask island, after Tehran earlier warned it would attack any US boats that entered the Strait of Hormuz .

Trump said that “Project Freedom” aimed to “free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong”.

Iran had afterwards warned that “any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive US army, will be attacked” if they approach the Strait.

Markets slide as Trump-Iran tensions rattle oil prices and stocks
Asian stock markets saw declines on Tuesday, mirroring losses on Wall Street as US equities retreated from recent record highs.

Oil prices, after an earlier surge, fell back amid escalating tensions in the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran .

The fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran faced significant challenges on Monday.

The US military reported sinking six Iranian small boats , which it claimed were targeting civilian vessels.

Concurrently, two US-flagged ships successfully navigated the Strait of Hormuz , a crucial waterway for oil and gas transport that remains largely closed despite repeated US demands for its reopening.

The United States has also imposed a sea blockade on Iranian ports , and US President Donald Trump ’s " Project Freedom" plan, designed to guide stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz, commenced on Monday.

Watch: Former Trump ally Megyn Kelly slams Iran war as 'disaster' for America
'We have not even begun yet,' says Iran's parliamentary speaker and calls Hormuz blockade 'intolerable' for US
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf has said that the ongoing crisis at the Strait of Hormuz is “intolerable” for the US and warned that Iran had “not even begun yet”.

“The new equation of the Strait of Hormuz is in the process of being solidified,” he wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.

“The security of shipping and energy transit has been jeopardised by the United States and its allies through the violation of the ceasefire and the imposition of a blockade; of course, their evil will diminish.

“We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet.”
Fire breaks out on commercial vessels at Iran’s port of Dayyer - report
A fire has broken out across several commercial vessels docked at Iran’s southern port of Dayyer, semi-official Mehr News Agency reported on Tuesday.

It said that the firefighters were working to contain the blaze.

The cause of the incident remains unknown.

India condemns ‘unacceptable’ attack on UAE
India’s ministry of external affairs has described the attack on the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah, which injured three Indian nationals, as “unacceptable” in a post on X.

“We call for immediate cessation of these hostilities and the targeting of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians,” the ministry said, referring to the drone strike on the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone that the UAE said was carried out by Iran.

Earlier, the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted several missiles and drones, believed to have originated from Iran, on Monday and called them a “dangerous escalation” and a clear violation of international law.

Trump declines to comment on US-Iran ceasefire
Donald Trump has declined to confirm whether the US ceasefire with Iran is still in effect after both sides reported fresh exchanges in the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking on The Hugh Hewitt Show , he was asked if the pause in hostilities was over and whether strikes would resume, but replied: “Well, I can’t tell you that.”
He added: “If I answered that question, you’d say this man is not smart enough to be president.”
Watch: Trump says there's a 'possibility' of new strikes if Iran 'misbehaves'
Five people killed after US attack on two boats, Iran claims
Iran claims that five people were killed after the US struck two civilian boats carrying goods, according to an Iranian state media report citing a military source.

The report followed claims by Donald Trump that US forces had destroyed seven “small boats” in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

Writing on Truth Social, he said: “We’ve shot down seven small Boats or, as they like to call them, ‘fast’ Boats.

It’s all they have left.”
Earlier, Tehran said it had hit a US warship near the strait, a claim the US military has rejected.

Maersk says US-flagged ship exited Strait of Hormuz ‘without incident’
Shipping giant Maersk says one of its US-flagged vessels has successfully exited the Strait of Hormuz under US military protection as part of what Donald Trump has called “Project Freedom”.

The company told the BBC that the transit was “completed without incident, and all crew members are safe and unharmed”.

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the situation in the strait has made it clear that “there’s no military solution” to the political crisis and dismissed the US effort, saying “Project Freedom is Project Deadlock”.

The Strait of Hormuz has remained largely blocked since the US and Israeli air strikes on Iran in February.

UAE strongly condemns suspected Iranian attacks
The United Arab Emirates strongly condemned the wave of missiles and drone attacks, believed to have originated from Iran on Monday and called them a “dangerous escalation” and a clear violation of international law.

The strikes left three Indian nationals injured and, according to officials, pose a direct threat to the country’s security, stability, and territorial safety.

The UAE earlier said it had intercepted several missiles and drones from Iran.

However, some reports said that the Iranian military has rejected these accusations.

Al Jazeera reported that an Iranian military official told Iranian state media that Tehran had no plans to target the UAE, adding that the missiles and drones involved were not “engaged from Iranian territory”.

Meanwhile, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Gulf Cooperation Council, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have all condemned the suspected Iranian missile and drone attack on the UAE.

The UAE said it will not tolerate any compromise on its sovereignty and reserves the full right to respond in line with international law, according to The Khaleej Times .

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