Washington DC, May 3 -- US President Donald Trump has announced "Project Freedom", an initiative aimed at helping commercial vessels trapped in the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating regional tensions in the Gulf.

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday (local time), Trump said countries around the world had requested American assistance to safely guide their ships out of the strategically vital waterway.

"Countries from all over the World, almost all of which are not involved in the Middle Eastern dispute going on so visibly, and violently, for all to see, have asked the United States if we could help free up their Ships, which are locked up in the Strait of Hormuz, on something which they have absolutely nothing to do with," Trump said.

He...