CENTCOM denies reports of US Navy escort operations in Strait of Hormuz

An aerial view of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group while operating at the Arabian Sea, escorted by two military replenishment ships and two U.S. Coast Guard vessels, as fighter jets from Carrier Air Wing Nine conducted flight operations overhead in the Arabian Sea, on February 6, 2026. [US CENTCOM/Handout – Anadolu Agency]

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) denied media reports Tuesday that the American Navy resumed escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, Anadolu reports.

In a statement on US social media company X, CENTCOM rejected claims that the “Project Freedom” initiative had restarted, saying US forces are not assisting commercial shipping through the strategic waterway.

Earlier Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal, citing US military officials, reported that the navy guided a Greek supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil through the strategic waterway off the coast of Oman.

The vessel had been stranded in the region since early March and is now bound for India to deliver its cargo, according to the US military officials cited in the report.

“Project Freedom,” a US initiative to guide ships through the critical shipping corridor, was suspended roughly 36 hours after it launched earlier this month.

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