South Korea is considering joining Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom” to re-open the Strait of Hormuz after one of its vessels in the region was struck by an explosion, local media reported on Tuesday.
Mr Trump declared on Monday that the US military was ready to guide ships through the strait in order to protect the interests of “innocent bystander” countries that weren’t involved with the US-Israeli war against Iran. “Project Freedom”, the American president claimed, would also aid the sailors stranded on hundreds of ships stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war began.
After the US and Israel started a new war on 28 February, Iran closed the waterway, which normally carried about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas, leaving hundreds of ships stranded on either side. In a counter-move last month, the US announced a naval blockade of Iran.
Not long Mr Trump announced “Project Freedom”, a cargo vessel operated by the South Korean company HMM reported an explosion onboard. It was reportedly at anchor when the explosion occurred and caused a fire.
On Tuesday, Seoul said it was investigating the cause of an explosion onboard HMM Namu, which was anchored off the coast of the UAE.
“The exact cause of the accident will be figured out after the vessel is towed and its damage assessed,” South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that all crew members, six Koreans and 18 foreigners, were safe.
However, Mr Trump swiftly blamed Tehran and urged Seoul to join his campaign. “Iran has taken some shots at unrelated nations with respect to the ship movement, PROJECT FREEDOM, including a South Korean cargo ship,” he posted on his Truth Social platform. “Perhaps it’s time for South Korea to come and join the mission! We’ve shot down seven small boats or, as they like to call them, ‘fast’ boats.”
A few hours later, South Korea said the presidential office was reviewing whether the country should join the mission.
An HMM official said that it wasn’t immediately clear if the fire on their ship was caused by an external attack or an intense malfunction.
US naval vessels tried to force their way through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, but were reportedly turned back by Iranian fire. The US military claimed that two merchant vessels flying the American flag transited the strait on Monday as part of its new initiative.
The military also said that they sank six Iranian small boats, a claim denied by Iran’s media.
In the evening, American ally UAE said that it had come under attack from Iran for the first time since a fragile ceasefire took hold in early April.
Iran did not confirm or deny the latest attack but its foreign minister warned early on Tuesday that the US and the UAE “should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire”.
