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U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that American military forces would temporarily halt "Project Freedom," the operation launched to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, as diplomatic efforts with Tehran gather pace.
Trump said the decision followed appeals from Pakistan and other nations and came on the back of what he described as major battlefield gains in the U.S. military campaign against Iran.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump said both sides had reached a mutual understanding to pause the ship transit component of the mission for a limited period to determine whether a comprehensive and permanent deal with Iran could be concluded. He stressed that the U.S. naval blockade would continue to operate at full strength throughout the suspension.
Trump had unveiled "Project Freedom" on Sunday, pledging to deploy American military assets to safely move vessels through the strategic waterway after Tehran asserted that any passage required its prior authorization.
Tensions in the region have been running high since the United States and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28, drawing retaliatory measures from Tehran that disrupted shipping through the strait. A ceasefire brokered by Pakistan entered into force on April 8, though subsequent talks in Islamabad failed to yield a definitive agreement. Trump later extended the truce without setting an expiration date. Since April 13, Washington has enforced a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic in the waterway.
Separately on Tuesday, Iran rolled out a new framework governing vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz. Under the arrangement, ships intending to transit the passage receive written notification from an entity linked to the Persian Gulf Strait Authority outlining the applicable regulations, and must comply before being issued a transit permit, according to state broadcaster Press TV.
Trump announced on May 4 that U.S. forces would begin assisting neutral vessels — those belonging to countries uninvolved in the regional conflict — in navigating through the Strait of Hormuz, branding the operation "Project Freedom."
At a White House press briefing, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the operation had been launched in part to facilitate the evacuation of approximately 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries stranded in the Gulf region as a result of Iran's effective closure of the strait.
Iran's state-linked press outlets have characterised U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to suspend the "Project Freedom" shipping escort mission in the Strait of Hormuz as a sign of failure and a step back under pressure.
The semi-official Tasnim News Agency ran its coverage under a headline describing Trump as having "backed down," framing the halt of what it called the so-called "Project Freedom" as a continuation of Washington's inability to manage the Hormuz situation. The outlet alleged that Trump had attempted to conceal the shortcomings of his plan by bundling the announcement with what it described as his trademark unsubstantiated claims.
Semi-official Fars News Agency similarly characterised the pause as a retreat, publishing a headline that described Trump as having backed down once more by suspending the initiative. The agency framed the decision as a direct response to firm warnings issued by Tehran.
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