U.S. Navy Destroyers Transit Strait of Hormuz Amid Ceasefire

Two U.S. Navy destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, marking the first such passage since hostilities erupted between the United States and Iran on February 28, as ceasefire negotiations unfolded in Islamabad, Pakistan.

The guided-missile destroyers USS Michael Murphy and USS Frank E. Peterson moved from the Arabian Sea into the Persian Gulf and back without escorting commercial vessels, according to U.S. officials. The operation, described as a freedom of navigation mission through international waters, was not coordinated with Iranian authorities. To signal the transit publicly, the USS Michael Murphy activated its automatic identification system, a deliberate step that maritime experts noted deviates from standard Navy protocol for such maneuvers.

U.S. Central Command announced that the ships were initiating efforts to clear sea mines previously deployed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the strait. Additional U.S. forces, including underwater drones, are slated to join the operation in the coming days. "Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the...