WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels have successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz as American forces are assisting efforts to restore commercial shipping transit through the strategic waterway, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Monday.

U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers are currently operating in the Persian Gulf after transiting the Strait of Hormuz in support of Project Freedom, the Command wrote in a post on X.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States will begin guiding ships out of the Strait of Hormuz on Monday morning, describing the move, named Project Freedom, as a "humanitarian gesture."

"U.S. military support to Project Freedom will include guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members," CENTCOM said on social media later on Sunday.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps later rejected the U.S. claims, saying that "no commercial vessels or oil tankers" have transited the Strait of Hormuz, according to reports by semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday dismissed the "U.S. claims of humanitarianism," noting that the waterway had been safe for international shipping before the U.S.-Israeli attacks began.

Baghaei said the U.S. response to Tehran's 14-point peace proposal is "not easy to review," as Washington was making "excessive and unreasonable demands."

In its 14-point proposal sent to the United States through Pakistan on Thursday, Iran seeks guarantees against military aggression, U.S. troop withdrawal from the region, the release of frozen Iranian assets and the removal of sanctions, while calling for a new transit mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz and ending war on all fronts, including Lebanon, according to media reports. ■