by Sharon Rondeau
(May 5, 2026) — At 6:52 p.m. EDT Tuesday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social he would suspend “Project Freedom,” an initiative launched just over a day ago for the United States to guide various nations’ ships through the Strait of Hormuz following heightened threats and hostile actions from Iran.
“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. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
On April 13, Trump imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed on March 12, sending oil markets into chaos and prices skyrocketing.
Over the last several weeks, Pakistan served as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran during talks yet to produce the agreement Trump has demanded: that Iran abandon its ambition to develop nuclear weapons.
“Iran will never be permitted to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump has often declared.
According to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan “Raizin” Caine in a presser Tuesday morning, Project Freedom’s facilitation of navigation through the Strait was running smoothly.
A tenuous ceasefire between the United States and Iran continues to remain in effect, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Tuesday morning when appearing alongside Caine to provide updates on the operation.
From the Oval Office later Tuesday morning, Trump reiterated that since the launch of hostilities on February 28, the U.S. military has demolished Iran’s military capabilities and the rogue nation has nothing left with which to fight.
While responding to reporters’ questions afterward, Trump told Fox News’s Ed Lawrence the U.S.’s economic warfare against Iran has been effective.
“They should wave the white flag of surrender,” he said. “They should cry ‘uncle.'”
On Tuesday afternoon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at his first White House press conference that Project Freedom is “a defensive operation.”
For its part, Iran claims publicly it controls the Strait of Hormuz.
On his Tuesday night program, “Watters World,” host Jesse Watters speculated that Trump’s pause of Project Freedom could indicate the elusive “deal” Trump has sought with the regime is on the horizon.