Trump puts ‘Project Freedom’ on hold, saying he hopes to finalise a deal with Iran

Donald Trump announced he is pausing ‘Project Freedom’, the US effort to guide stranded vessels out of the strait of Hormuz, so he can finalise a deal with Iran, but added that his blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place.

Trump’s abrupt change of plan was declared in a social media post, saying he was pausing the effort for “a short period” to give space for US efforts to finalise a settlement with Iran to end the war.

Despite Project Freedom only launching Monday, Trump said he’d made the move 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”. Iran is yet to comment.

The announcement came after military leaders and the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, insisted a ceasefire in the Middle East was still holding and that – while the conflict is not resolved – the initial major US military operation against Iran has concluded.

“The operation is over. Epic Fury – as the president notified Congress – we’re done with that stage of it,” Rubio said.

Rubio told the White House press briefing Tuesday that for peace to be achieved, Iran must agree to Trump’s demands on its nuclear program and also agree to reopen the strait of Hormuz.

Trump’s pausing of Project Freedom appeared to run counter to comments Rubio and the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, only hours earlier.

In a Pentagon news conference, Hegseth said the US had successfully secured a path through the waterway and that hundreds of commercial ships were lining up to pass through. “We know the Iranians are embarrassed by this ​fact. They said they control the strait. They do not,” he said.

Rubio later said the US was working to get ships through the strait as a “favour to the world … because we’re the only ones that can”. As Rubio was addressing reporters, a cargo vessel in the strait reported it had been struck by a unknown projectile.

Rubio expressed hope that during the visit to China by Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday, Beijing would reiterate to Tehran the need to release its chokehold on the strait.

“It is in China’s interest that Iran stop closing the strait,” Rubio said.

So far, only two merchant ships are known to have passed through the US-guarded route, with hundreds more, carrying up to 23,000 crew members, bottled up in the Persian Gulf.

Iran’s effective closure of the strait, through which major oil and gas supplies passed before the war, along with fertiliser and other petroleum products, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and rattled the global economy. Breaking Iran’s grip would deny its main source of leverage as Trump demands a major rollback of its disputed nuclear program.

Meanwhile, for a second day the United Arab Emirates said it came under attack from Iranian drones and missiles, claims denied by Tehran.

Hegseth and Gen Dan Caine, the US military’s top officer, told a news conference that Iran’s renewed attacks had not reached the threshold of what Caine called “major combat operations”. He said Tuesday marked a “quieter” day in the strait.

“The ceasefire is not over,” Hegseth said.

At the White House, Rubio said clashes with Iran related to American efforts to reopen the straight were “defensive in nature”.

“There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first, OK?” Rubio said. “We’re not attacking them.”

The Trump administration is facing increasing pressure over how it frames the conflict to Congress because of the war powers resolution, a law that typically requires presidents to seek formal approval from Congress for war activities 60 days after beginning military action.

On the eve of the 60 day war powers deadline expiring last week, a senior official of the Trump administration said the US had “terminated” hostilities with Iran since the shaky 8 April ceasefire.

Rising gasoline prices are also proving awkward for Republicans with midterms fast looming. The national average retail price passed $4.50 a gallon on Tuesday for the first time since July 2022, data showed. In the hours after Trump’s surprise announcement, the price of Brent crude was holding steady at $108.

Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, signalled Iran has yet to fully respond to the US attempt to reopen the waterway.

“We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet,” he said in a post on X. His statement did not mention negotiations with the US that are now in the form of passing messages via Pakistan.

Disputing Washington’s claim of sinking six Iranian boats, an Iranian military commander said two small civilian cargo boats were hit Monday, killing five civilians, Iran’s state TV reported.

Caine, who serves as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more than 100 US military aircraft are patrolling the skies over the strait. The US has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports since 13 April, depriving Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.

Hapag-Lloyd AG, one of the world’s largest container shipping companies, said in a statement that its risk assessment “remains unchanged” and that transits through the strait “are for the moment not possible for our ships”.

“For shipping companies and for insurance companies, they still have to wait and see how this plays out,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

With Associated Press