First Thing: Tensions rise over Hormuz as Trump threatens to blow Iran ‘off the face of the earth’

Good morning. Donald Trump has again raised the stakes in the Gulf region with the Monday launch of “Project Freedom” to open a route through the strait of Hormuz. More than 800 ships and roughly 20,000 crew members remain stranded in the region. Just hours after the operation began, the US military said it destroyed six small Iranian boats and interceptedIranian cruise missiles and drones – a claim that was denied by Iran – and Iran attacked the United Arab Emirates with drones and missiles, …