Strait of Hormuz [AFP=News]

On the first day of the U.S.'s "Liberation Project" to guide ships trapped in the Strait of Hormuz to safety, the U.S. and Iran escalated tensions in the strait by engaging in military actions near it.

Iran's attacks on Gulf countries have also resumed. Concerns are rising that the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, which has been tenuously maintained, might collapse.

According to U.S. media outlets including The New York Times (NYT), U.S. Central Command Commander Brad Cooper stated in a phone briefing with reporters on the 4th (local time) that Iran fired cruise missiles at ships in the Strait of Hormuz and deployed drones, which were shot down by U.S. Navy vessels.

Cooper added that U.S. Army Apache helicopters sank six small Iranian military speedboats that were threatening merchant vessels.

The Washington Post (WP) reported that Iran's attacks occurred immediately after the U.S. Central Command announced that two U.S. merchant ships had safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz as the first step of the Liberation Project. It appears that the missile, drone, and speedboat deployments were part of a show of force targeting the U.S.'s Liberation Project.

Cooper stated, "I will not elaborate on whether the ceasefire has ended," adding, "We responded in line with President Donald Trump's directives after witnessing Iran's aggressive actions this morning."

This day marked the first day of the U.S.'s commencement of the Liberation Project in the Strait of Hormuz. As soon as the Liberation Project, aimed at facilitating the escape of ships trapped in the strait, began, the U.S. and Iran engaged in military actions.

Iran's attacks in the Gulf region, which had ceased for a month following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, have also resumed.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it detected four cruise missiles fired from Iran in the afternoon, intercepting three of them in the airspace over its territorial waters, while the remaining one fell into the sea.

The NYT, citing Oman's state-run media, reported that attacks also occurred in residential areas of Bukha, a coastal city in Oman, which is close to the Strait of Hormuz.

With the military actions by the U.S. and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and the resumption of Iran's attacks on Gulf countries, the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, which had been tenuously maintained amid the standoff over peace negotiations, appears to be on the verge of collapse.

The exchange of fire on this day occurred as the U.S. and Iran, amidst a continued fragile ceasefire and negotiation deadlock, began to shake things up with President Trump initiating the "Liberation Project," seemingly aimed at strengthening control over the strait, prompting a retaliatory response from Iran.

Recently, both sides have been engaged in a war of nerves, repeatedly presenting revised peace proposals.

It remains unclear whether the U.S. and Iran will declare an end to the ceasefire and launch a full-scale resumption of attacks, or continue the ceasefire through a war of words without making a major issue of this conflict.

Immediately, an Iranian military official, through Iranian media, denied the U.S. Navy's claim of sinking a small vessel.

Regarding the U.S. Central Command's announcement that two U.S. merchant ships passed safely through the Strait of Hormuz as part of the Liberation Project, Iran dismissed it, stating that no ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

The concern is the potential for such confrontations between both sides to escalate into military expansion.

The U.S. online media Axios reported, citing U.S. officials, that Commander Cooper presented a plan for U.S. Navy warships to pass through the strait on the 30th of last month, explaining it as a strategy to repel any Iranian response of firing missiles or dispatching speedboats, and to fully resume war if Iran intensifies its attacks targeting Gulf countries.

In an interview with Fox News on the same day, President Trump warned of a powerful military response if Iran attacks U.S. forces conducting the Liberation Project, even using the expression of wiping Iran off the face of the earth.

The U.S. launched the Liberation Project on this day to facilitate the escape of ships trapped in the Strait of Hormuz due to Iran's blockade. Although U.S. warships are not directly escorting merchant ships, the U.S. military has deployed significant forces near the Strait of Hormuz to prepare for any contingencies.