United States of America – President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States will begin escorting stranded commercial vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday, in an operation he has named “Project Freedom,” raising cautious hopes that the worst of a global energy crisis crippling countries like Uganda may soon begin to ease.
Trump made the announcement on social media, saying U.S. forces would guide ships out of what he called “restricted waterways” and warning that any interference “will have to be dealt with forcefully.” U.S. Central Command confirmed that the operation would involve 15,000 military personnel, guided missile destroyers and more than 100 aircraft, making it one of the most significant naval deployments in the region since the war between the United States, Israel and Iran began in late February.
The announcement comes as an estimated 20,000 sailors remain trapped aboard vessels in the Gulf, with growing international alarm over dwindling food and medical supplies onboard those ships. Late Sunday, the United Kingdom’s Maritime Transportation Operation reported that a tanker had been struck by an “unknown projectile” in the strait, though it said crew members were safe.
For Uganda and much of East Africa, the developments carry enormous practical weight. The Strait of Hormuz has remained roughly 90 percent closed since the war began, cutting off about 20 percent of global oil trade, and the consequences have arrived on Ugandan soil with painful clarity. Fuel stations across Kampala have been turning away customers, leaving motorists stranded, while even major dealers are running dry and forcing some outlets to ration supply per customer.
Uganda’s national fuel stock, under crisis conditions, lasts only about two weeks, a vulnerability that officials have been working urgently to address. The Ministry of Energy and Uganda National Oil Company said in a joint statement last month that as of April 20, the country held 70.5 million litres of petrol, enough for 19 days of national cover, alongside 43.2 million litres of diesel for 12 days. The government said incoming shipments would add substantial cover through June, but acknowledged that isolated outages at retail stations were being felt across the country.
The wider global picture is stark. The World Bank, in its latest Commodity Markets Outlook released last week, projected that energy prices would surge 24 percent in 2026 to their highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with overall commodity prices rising 16 percent. Brent crude, which averaged $69 a barrel in 2025, is now forecast to average $86 in 2026, and could reach as high as $115 if disruptions persist longer than expected.
The International Monetary Fund has described the disruption as the largest in the history of the global oil market, noting that energy importing economies in Africa are finding it increasingly hard to access the supplies they need even at inflated prices. Food security concerns are also mounting because roughly one third of globally traded fertilizer normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and disruptions to those shipments are threatening agricultural yields as the Northern Hemisphere planting season gets underway.
For Ugandan households, where food and transport consume a disproportionately large share of income, the compounding pressures are acutely felt. The World Bank’s chief economist Indermit Gill warned last week that “the poorest people, who spend the highest share of their income on food and fuels, will be hit the hardest.”
On the diplomatic front, Trump’s “Project Freedom” announcement was paired with signals of ongoing peace negotiations. He said U.S. representatives were having “very positive” discussions with Iran, adding that talks “could lead to something very positive for all.” Iran confirmed it had received a U.S. response to its 14-point peace proposal, delivered through Pakistan, and said the response was under review. The Iranian proposal calls for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from near Iran’s borders, an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and a full cessation of hostilities, including Israel’s operations in Lebanon, with a final agreement to be reached within 30 days.
However, significant obstacles remain. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei made clear that nuclear negotiations, a key U.S. demand, are not part of the current discussions. Trump himself, speaking to reporters Saturday, described Iran’s latest proposal as likely unacceptable, saying the country had “not yet paid a big enough price” for what he characterized as decades of destabilizing behavior. He also said military strikes on Iran remained “a possibility” if Tehran misbehaved, while insisting that U.S. forces were “not leaving” the region.
The conflict began Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iran under an operation that targeted military facilities, nuclear sites and Iranian leadership, resulting in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran responded with missile attacks on Israeli cities and U.S. bases across the Gulf, and the fighting rapidly spread to Lebanon. Iran formally announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on March 4, threatening to attack any vessel attempting to pass.
A U.S.-brokered ceasefire was announced April 8, but ship traffic through the strait has remained far below pre-war levels since then. Trump’s “Project Freedom” represents the first coordinated international effort to physically restore freedom of navigation, and its success or failure will be closely watched not only in Washington and Tehran, but in Kampala, Nairobi and across a continent that has borne the economic weight of a war it had no part in starting.
