Trump pauses US bid to guide ships out of Strait of Hormuz, cites Iran deal progress
Vessels within the Strait of Hormuz close to Bandar Abbas, Iran, May 4, 2026.
Amirhosein Khorgooi | ISNA | WANA | Via Reuters
president donald trump mentioned Tuesday he’s pausing “Project Freedom,” the US navy’s effort to guide industrial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, someday after the operation started.
Trump, in a Truth Social postmentioned the choice was primarily based partially on “the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement” with Iran.
Project Freedom “will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” Trump wrote.
Stock futures rose following Trump’s announcement, which raised hopes for a peace settlement that will finish the US-Israeli warfare in Iran and reopen the economically important strait.
Trump introduced Project Freedom on Sunday night, saying the US has assured nations whose vessels are caught due to the warfare that it’s going to “guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways.”
The Trump administration has mentioned that almost 23,000 sailors on vessels representing 87 nations have been stranded within the Persian Gulf as a result of of Iran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command mentioned Sunday night that the navy would deploy “guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members” to assist Project Freedom.
Iran has responded to Project Freedom with renewed hostility.
The United Arab Emirates mentioned Monday it was attacked with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones coming from Iran, leading to three accidents.
CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper told reporters the identical day that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at ships that we are protecting.”
A South Korean-operated vessel within the Strait of Hormuz additionally caught fireplace on Monday. Trump later mentioned that Iran had attacked it.
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