Sri Lanka, April 11 -- Two US warships have reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz, the first such transit since the war with Iran began, as President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States had started "clearing out" the strategic waterway.

The US Navy guided-missile destroyers passed through the strait with no issues reported, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing three US officials.

The operation was not coordinated with authorities in Tehran, US media outlet Axios said.

"We're now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said on his Truth Social platform, calling it "a favor" to countries such as China, Japan and France that "don't have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves." ...