U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that a Korean cargo ship was attacked by Iran while operating alone in the Strait of Hormuz. Although the Korean government stated that the cause of the explosion and fire aboard the HMM Namoo has not yet been determined, Trump treated the Iranian attack as an established fact.
Speaking at a White House event on Wednesday (local time), Trump was explaining that Korea procures 43% of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz when he said, "But their ship got attacked. They weren't in the line of ships, and they decided to act alone." He added, "And their ship got smashed up yesterday. But the ships the U.S. was protecting were not attacked."
Contrary to the Korean government's position that the cause of the explosion and fire on the Namoo has not yet been identified, the U.S. has been framing the incident as an Iranian attack on consecutive days and urging Korea to contribute to operations in the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier that morning, Defense Secretary (Department of War Secretary) Pete Hegseth, when asked whether Korea appeared ready to respond to the request to join Project Freedom as Trump had mentioned on Truth Social, said, "We hope Korea will do so," adding, "That kind of targeted attack reflects the indiscriminate behavior Iran is carrying out." He too treated the Iranian attack as an established fact.
The U.S. launched "Project Freedom" on Tuesday to help commercial vessels stranded in the Strait of Hormuz escape. On the same day, the U.S. military said Iran had mobilized missiles and fast boats to attack merchant ships and that U.S. forces had repelled them, heightening concerns that the ceasefire was on the verge of collapse. Iran has resumed attacks against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and others. Asked about the criteria for determining Iran's violation of the ceasefire, Trump said, "We'll find out soon," adding, "They know what to do, and more importantly, they know what not to do."
