US military says it's helped two ships transit the Strait of Hormuz
5/4/202647 min
The US military's Central Command says two US-flagged merchant ships have passed through the Hormuz strait with its assistance.
But a huge number of vessels and crew remain stranded. Can Donald Trump deliver on his promise to break the Iranian blockade?
Also in the programme: The leaders of Europe and Canada stress a new unified approach to security, amid strained relations with the US; pet rescue scammers in Uganda; and the multi-billion dollar bid to buy eBay.
(Photo shows vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near Bandar Abbas, Iran on 4 May 2026. Credit: Amirhosein KhorgooiWest Asia News Agency via Reuters)
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First 90 secondsTim Franks· Host0:00
[intro music] Hello, and welcome to News Hour. It's coming to you live from the BBC World Service studios in Central London. I'm Tim Franks. We're beginning, as we often do, with a question, what is going on? And in particular, what is going on in the Strait of Hormuz, that critical waterway where transit has been dramatically reduced as a result of the US-Iran conflict. The reason it's a particular question today is because of President Trump's announcement that as of mid-morning Middle East time, in other words, a few hours ago, the US would begin freeing the merchant ships that have been trapped by Iran's blockade. I say freeing. What Mr. Trump and his regional commanders indicated wasn't a full military escort, but they would somehow guide those stranded vesse-vessels. Iranian Central Command issued a swift riposte. Uh, passage through the strait, they said, had to be coordinated with them, no one else. The US military has, uh, since said that, uh, its warships have helped two US-flagged vessels transit. Anja Stenon is a reporter for the Norwegian broadcaster, NRK. She's been out in the Strait of Hormuz in the last couple of days. What's her understanding of what's going on?
Anja Stensrud· Guest1:15
From what I see, uh, in all the news bulletin here, it's really, really tense now. What really happened, nobody really knows. Should they believe Iranian authorities, or should they believe, uh,