The United States shot down multiple Iranian missiles and drones fired at US Navy and commercial vessels and destroyed six Iranian small boats on Monday, a top US admiral said.

The clashes occurred as American forces worked to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping under an operation called “Project Freedom,” announced by President Donald Trump on Sunday. Iran denied that any of its combat vessels were sunk.

What did the US military do in the Strait of Hormuz under Project Freedom?

US forces intercepted Iranian missiles and drones targeting both Navy ships and commercial vessels, and destroyed six small boats threatening shipping. Apache and Seahawk helicopters carried out the boat strikes. Rather than directly escorting ships, the US deployed a layered defensive umbrella of warships, helicopters, aircraft, and electronic warfare systems across the strait.

Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, told journalists that US forces “effectively engaged” all missiles and drones fired at both American and commercial ships. Some cruise missiles targeted US Navy vessels, while most of the drones and missiles were aimed at commercial ships. “We defended both ourselves and, consistent with our commitment, we defended all the commercial ships,” Cooper said.

What is Project Freedom and how does it work?

Project Freedom is a US military operation to facilitate the transit of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and gas exports that Iran closed after US and Israeli forces launched the war against it on February 28.

Trump announced the operation on Sunday, describing it as a humanitarian effort to free stranded vessels and their crews.

Cooper said US forces used unspecified “exquisite technology” over the preceding weeks to clear a pathway through the strait, then placed a “much broader defensive package” over it.

CENTCOM confirmed that two US guided-missile destroyers had transited the strait into the Gulf, while two US-flagged merchant vessels travelled in the opposite direction and were safely on their way. Cooper said the operation would ultimately create a two-way route, but that getting ships out of the Gulf was the immediate priority.

What did Trump and Iran say about the Hormuz clashes?

Trump put the number of Iranian boats struck at seven in a post on Truth Social, and said there had been no damage to vessels transiting the strait, aside from a South Korean ship that was hit, about which he provided no further details.

Iranian state television quoted a senior military official as saying the US claim that it sank Iranian war boats was false. Iranian state television had earlier reported that Iran’s navy fired cruise missiles, rockets, and combat drones near US destroyers moving through the strait as a “warning shot.”

As of April 29, more than 900 commercial vessels were located in the Gulf, according to maritime intelligence firm AXSMarine. The scale of that backlog underlines the pressure on the US to establish a reliable passage through the Strait of Hormuz before the standoff worsens.