DUBAI/TEHRAN: Donald Trump said the United States will begin guiding stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, as an Iranian official warned that any American "interference" in the chokepoint would be considered a violation of the ceasefire.

"Any American interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire," Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran's parliament, said in a post on X.

Trump announced the initiative — dubbed "Project Freedom" — in a social media post on Sunday, saying Washington would help "neutral and innocent" countries whose vessels have been trapped in the strait since the outbreak of the Iran war.

"We will guide their ships safely out of these restricted waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business," Trump said, adding the operation would begin Monday morning in the Middle East.

He said US representatives were also engaged in discussions with Iran that could yield a "very positive" outcome.

The US Central Command said the initiative would involve guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 service members.

The Pentagon did not immediately answer questions about how they would be deployed.

The strait, a critical artery for global oil and gas flows, has been effectively closed by Iran since the conflict erupted on Feb. 28 following US and Israeli strikes, roiling global markets and stranding hundreds of vessels and an estimated 20,000 seafarers.

Crew members — many from South and Southeast Asia — have described witnessing drones and missiles over the waters and facing dwindling supplies of food and drinking water.

Trump framed the effort as humanitarian, saying it was being undertaken "on behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern countries but, in particular, the country of Iran," while warning that any interference "will...have to be dealt with forcefully".

Iranian media outlets quickly circulated Trump's comments, characterizing them as a "claim", as Tehran said it was reviewing a US response to its latest proposal aimed at ending the conflict.

Officials have stressed the talks are not related to nuclear negotiations.

A fragile three-week ceasefire appears to be holding.

Tensions remain high in and around the strait.

A tanker has reported being hit by unknown projectiles while transiting about 78 nautical miles north of the city of Fujairah in the UAE, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Monday.

All crew are reported safe, UKMTO said.

On Sunday, the UKMTO reported that a cargo vessel near the Iranian port of Sirik was approached by multiple small craft in a suspected attack, though all crew were reported safe.

All crew on the unidentified northbound cargo ship were safe after the attack off Sirik, Iran, east of the strait, the British monitor said.

Iranian officials have asserted that they control the strait and that ships not affiliated with the United States or Israel can pass if they pay a toll, challenging the freedom of navigation guaranteed by international law.

Iran denied an attack, the semiofficial Iranian outlets Fars and Tabnak reported, and said a passing ship had been stopped for a documents check as part of monitoring.

It was the first reported attack in the area since April 22.

Tehran has effectively closed the strait by attacking and threatening ships, and the threat level in the area remains critical.

Iranian patrol boats, some powered only by twin outboard motors, are small, nimble and hard to detect.

Trump last month ordered the US military to "shoot and kill" small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the strait.

The British military monitor also said Sunday that ships near Ras Al-Khaimah, the northernmost emirate in the United Arab Emirates and close to the strait, reported receiving radio warnings to move from anchorages.

It was not clear who sent the VHF messages.