US strikes Iran LIVE updates: Strait of Hormuz continues to be under blockade by the US and Iran and has unleashed the biggest oil supply shock in history, sending energy prices sharply higher.

The U.S. military said Monday two cargo ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz as the Trump administration seeks to regain control of the critical shipping waterway. U.S. Central Command confirmed the transit of the two vessels and said Navy guided-missile destroyers are now protecting vessels in the Persian Gulf after transiting the

Two American-flagged merchant ships made it through the Strait of Hormuz, the US military announced Monday, the first indication that the Trump administration was restoring the flow of shipping traffic in the crucial waterway.

Since the start of the US blockade on Monday, 15 vessels have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, nine of which have links to Iran, BBC Verify analysis of ship-tracking data suggests.

The USS Frank E. Petersen and USS Michael Murphy sailed into the Persian Gulf to start preparations for sweeping the waterway for explosives.

Hundreds of cargo ships are still stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, despite a declaration from President Donald Trump that the U.S. military would help get traffic flowing again through the vital shipping lane.

Trump said countries from all over the world who operate the hundreds of ships stuck around the Strait of Hormuz have reached out to the US for help, with the president vowing to step up.

Dolphins have been used by the military to detect underwater obstacles for decades, but they aren’t typically sent into active war zones.

WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have quietly reopened their bases and airspace to the US military, which could allow President Trump to re-up his currently paused “Project Freedom” mission to protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz against Iranian attacks,