U.S. forces have shot down multiple Iranian missiles and drones and destroyed six small boats, a top U.S. admiral said Monday.
The hostilities occurred as American forces seek to facilitate the transit of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in an effort dubbed "Project Freedom" that President Donald Trump announced on Sunday.
U.S. Apache and Seahawk helicopters hit "six Iranian small boats threatening commercial shipping," Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), told journalists.
U.S. forces also "effectively engaged" all "missiles and drones that were fired at both us and the commercial ships," Cooper said.
Some cruise missiles were launched at U.S. Navy ships but most of them as well as multiple drones targeted commercial vessels, he said.
