Image source, Reuters

As well as announcing "Project Freedom", Donald Trump also uses his latest Truth Social post to say "very positive discussions" with Iran are taking place, which "could lead to something very positive for all".

Trump's comments follow back and forth about a 14-point plan for peace, drawn up by Iran and sent to the US.

Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Tehran was reviewing a response it had received to the plan from Washington. This was reportedly passed via Pakistan, which has been acting as an intermediary.

It says Iran has asked the US to withdraw its forces from near Iran's borders and end its naval blockade of the country's ports, as well as for all hostilities to cease - including Israel's offensive in Lebanon.

It also says it called for an agreement between the two countries to be reached within 30 days.

The US is yet to formally confirm it has replied to Iran. However, Israel's Kan News says that Trump called the proposal unacceptable during a phone interview.

Twenty-two crew members on board an Iranian container ship that was seized by the US last month have been evacuated to Pakistan, and will be "handed over to the Iranian authorities today", the Pakistani government says.

US forces seized the Touska last month, after firing at its engine room. Iran called it "piracy", while President Trump said the ship "tried to get past our naval blockade, and it did not go well for them".

Pakistan says the repatriation of the crew is "a confidence-building measure by the United States of America".

It adds: "The Iranian ship will also be backloaded to Pakistani territorial waters for return to its original owners after necessary repairs.

"These returns are being coordinated in tandem with the support of both the Iranian and US sides.

"Pakistan welcomes such confidence-building measures and will continue to facilitate dialogue and diplomacy while pursuing ongoing mediation efforts for regional peace and security."

Image source, Getty Images

Iran's military says it will attack US forces if they enter the Strait of Hormuz - after Donald Trump announced an operation to guide ships out of the waterway.

A statement from the head of Iran's central command says that it will attack "any foreign armed force" that tries to approach or enter the strait, "especially, the aggressive US army".

Major General Ali Abdollahi says that Iran has "repeatedly" stated that the strait "is under the control" of the Iranian armed forces, and safe passage through it must be coordinated with it "under all circumstances".

The statement was shared by the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.

As a reminder, the US military says "guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members", will support "Project Freedom".

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

We've also heard an update from US Central Command (Centcom) on how it will support the so-called "Project Freedom".

"US Central Command forces will begin supporting Project Freedom, May 4, to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz," it says in a statement issued on Sunday.

This support includes 15,000 personnel, guided-missile destroyers and more than 100 aircraft.

Centcom says "a quarter of the world’s oil trade at sea and significant volumes of fuel and fertilizer products are transported through the strait".

"Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade," adds Adm Brad Cooper, Centcom commander.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump's announcement comes just days after UN member countries "strongly condemned" Iran's disruption of global shipping at a meeting in London.

The meeting approved a resolution put forward by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) - a specialist UN agency that regulates shipping - stating that Iran had "threaten[ed]" the welfare of seafarers, represented a grave danger to life and posed a serious risk to the marine environment".

But after the vote, the head of the IMO, Arsenio Dominguez, urged the focus to stay on practical help for sailors.

"I would like to express some disappointment in a way in which we are working on these issues," he said.

"I don't see how these discussions and procedures and votes help the 20,000 seafarers that have for nine weeks now have been stranded, and 2,000 ships are stuck."

Image source, Reuters

Here is the full post from Donald Trump, published at 21:35 BST on Sunday (16:35 ET).

Countries from all over the World, almost all of which are not involved in the Middle Eastern dispute going on so visibly, and violently, for all to see, have asked the United States if we could help free up their Ships, which are locked up in the Strait of Hormuz, on something which they have absolutely nothing to do with — They are merely neutral and innocent bystanders!

For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business. Again, these are Ships from areas of the World that are not in any way involved with that which is currently taking place in the Middle East.

I have told my Representatives to inform them that we will use best efforts to get their Ships and Crews safely out of the Strait. In all cases, they said they will not be returning until the area becomes safe for navigation, and everything else.

This process, Project Freedom, will begin Monday morning, Middle East time. I am fully aware that my Representatives are having very positive discussions with the Country of Iran, and that these discussions could lead to something very positive for all. The Ship movement is merely meant to free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong — They are victims of circumstance.

This is a Humanitarian gesture on behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern Countries but, in particular, the Country of Iran. Many of these Ships are running low on food, and everything else necessary for largescale crews to stay on board in a healthy and sanitary manner.

I think it would go a long way in showing Goodwill on behalf of all of those who have been fighting so strenuously over the last number of months. If, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Donald Trump says that the US is going to start guiding stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz from this morning.

"For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways," he said in a social media post on Sunday – though he didn’t specify which countries would receive this help.

The strait is a vital Gulf shipping lane for oil and gas tankers, and container ships. It has been effectively blocked for weeks by Iranian attacks, and a subsequent US naval blockade.

The US president has named the operation "Project Freedom", and is warning that any interference with it will "have to be dealt with forcefully".

But a senior Iranian lawmaker, and former commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ebrahim Azizi, says that "any American interference" would be "considered a violation of the ceasefire".

We’ll bring you all the latest developments on this throughout the day.

Image source, Reuters