ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States was pausing “Project Freedom,” an operation aimed at guiding stranded commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, following a request from Pakistan and other countries after the initiative heightened tensions around the strategic waterway and triggered exchanges of fire between US and Iranian forces.
Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator between Washington and Tehran since the start of the war, relaying messages between the two sides and hosting direct talks in Islamabad last month after a ceasefire was announced on Apr. 8.
Trump said on Monday he was launching “Project Freedom” to facilitate the movement of merchant ships stranded by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israeli strikes on Tehran on Feb. 28 that started the war.
The US has already enforced a counter-blockade of Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s closure of the waterway, through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas shipments pass.
“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 US president said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump did not elaborate on the progress he said had been made toward an agreement with Iran or provide details on the status of any backchannel negotiations.
Tensions had surged after Washington announced “Project Freedom” earlier this week, with Iran warning any US interference would violate the fragile ceasefire between the two countries.
Iranian media later reported that two missiles struck a US Navy vessel in the strait after it ignored warnings from Iran’s navy, though US Central Command denied any ships had been hit and said American forces were enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
The US also said it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones as Tehran sought to thwart its naval effort to open shipping through the strait.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio played down the tensions earlier Tuesday, saying that his country had completed its offensive operations against Iran, which Washington dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”
“The operation is over — Epic Fury — as the president notified Congress. We’re done with that stage of it,” Rubio told reporters at the White House.
“The clashes in the Strait of Hormuz were not part of the original war,” he said, adding: “This is not an offensive operation; this is a defensive operation. And what that means is very simple — there’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has also traveled to Beijing for talks with Chinese officials, according to Chinese state media, marking his first visit to the country since the start of the conflict.
While the Chinese state media did not share more details, the discussions are expected to focus on maintaining the ceasefire and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, an issue on which Beijing has criticized both the US blockade on Iranian ports and Iran’s closure of the key shipping route.
