Pakistan, May 5 -- The United States shot down multiple Iranian missiles and drones fired at US Navy and commercial vessels and destroyed six of Tehran's small boats, a top US admiral said on Monday.

The hostilities occurred as American forces seek to facilitate the transit of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in an effort dubbed "Project Freedom" that President Donald Trump announced on Sunday.

US Apache and Seahawk helicopters hit "six Iranian small boats threatening commercial shipping," Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), told journalists.

US forces also "effectively engaged" all "missiles and drones that were fired at both us and the commercial ships," Cooper said.

Some cruise missiles we...