President Donald Trump said the United States will temporarily halt Project Freedom, its effort to move ships through the Strait of Hormuz, while negotiations with Iran advance.
Trump said the blockade will stay in place and that the pause, which comes just one day after the operation began, will test whether a final deal with Iran can be reached amid a precarious ceasefire between the two countries. The president said Pakistan and others requested the pause.
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” the president posted on Truth Social Tuesday.
The president launched Project Freedom on Monday in an effort to restore safe navigation for commercial vessels through the strait, as Iran has limited traffic during the war, which started Feb. 28 after U.S.-Israeli strikes that occurred in the middle of prior negotiations.
“President Trump has directed U.S. Central Command to restart the free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz under the umbrella of Project Freedom,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth said. “Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope, temporary in duration [and] with one mission: protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression.”
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated Hegseth’s comments, calling the effort “defensive.”
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“This is a defensive operation,” Rubio said during a White House press conference. “And what that means is very simple: There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first,”
On Monday, the U.S. destroyed nine Iranian vessels after they opened fire on commercial vessels moving through the strait.
