Project Freedom

On 16 May 2026, Majlis National Security Committee chairman Ebrahim Azizi publicly announced Iran's Hormuz toll mechanism and named Project Freedom vessels as an explicitly excluded class — barred from Iran's designated transit corridor regardless of fee payment. The exclusion formalises the IRGC's operational practice into a parliamentary position, converting what had been a de facto denial of passage into a named-exclusion doctrine.

Project Freedom was announced on 3 May 2026 via Truth Social — no signed presidential instrument accompanied it — and covers approximately 15,000 personnel, guided-missile destroyers, and 100+ aircraft. The operation's legal authority rests solely on a social media post. Iran's Majlis National Security Commission ruled the operation a Ceasefire violation on launch; the PGSA's formal exclusion of its vessels on 16 May represents the legislature catching up to that ruling with a named mechanism.

The operation is currently paused in practice: no confirmed escort convoy transits have been reported since mid-May, and the Pentagon is reported to be weighing a rename to 'Operation Sledgehammer' to reset the War Powers Resolution clock. The named-exclusion status means any resumed transit under the Project Freedom banner would face the full PGSA interdiction regime with no toll-payment pathway available.

Project Freedom is the US military's named escort operation to protect civilian shipping through the Strait of Hormuz amid Iran's declared blockade of vessels bound for Israel. Announced by Donald Trump on Truth Social on 3 May 2026 — not via a signed presidential instrument, executive order, or CENTCOM operations order — the operation deployed approximately 15,000 personnel, guided-missile destroyers, 100+ aircraft, and multi-domain unmanned systems. The distinction matters constitutionally: the operation's legal authority rests solely on a social media post, a gap four Republican senators — including Todd Young — have joined Democratic colleagues to contest by demanding an AUMF before any offensive action.

Transit under the operation's umbrella began on 4 May, when the first escorted convoy entered the Strait. CENTCOM reported 48 vessels held at anchor as of that date, up from 44 on 30 April, with the four extra interdictions occurring in the same window CENTCOM was staging the escort fleet for launch. The IRGC responded by setting a 30-day ultimatum for the US to withdraw or face escalation to full blockade, and Iran's Majlis National Security Commission ruled that the operation constituted a ceasefire violation.

Project Freedom is the largest US naval mobilisation in the Gulf since Operation Earnest Will (1987-88) and the first direct US military contest with Iran's Strait leverage in the post-JCPOA era. It operates alongside, not instead of, CENTCOM's parallel port blockade — making it the first instance in the war's history where the same combatant command is simultaneously running an escort mission for civilian shipping and an interdiction campaign against Iranian-port vessels in the same chokepoint.