India, May 4 -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday announced the launch of "Operation Project Freedom," a mission aimed at guiding and escorting hundreds of commercial vessels stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said several countries had requested U.S. assistance to help free ships stuck in the vital shipping corridor amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

"Countries from all over the world. have asked the United States if we could help free up their ships, which are locked up in the Strait of Hormuz," he wrote, adding that many of the vessels belong to nations not involved in the ongoing conflict and are "neutral and innocent bystanders."

He said the U.S. would guide these ships safely through ...