Trump pauses ‘Project Freedom’ in Hormuz, cites Iran deal progress

US President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” a naval operation launched to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, saying “great progress” has been made in negotiations with Iran toward a possible agreement.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said discussions with Iranian representatives were advancing and that both sides had agreed to pause the operation temporarily.

“Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran,” Trump wrote, adding that the move came “based on the request of Pakistan and other countries” and following what he described as US military success during the campaign.

He said that while the blockade of the Strait would remain, “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 finalised and signed.”

The operation had been launched earlier this week after shipping disruptions in the narrow waterway, a critical global oil route that handles nearly one-fifth of global crude supplies.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the broader military effort, “Operation Epic Fury”, which began on 28 February, had already concluded.

“We achieved the objectives of that operation. We’re not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace,” Rubio said at a White House briefing.

He said Project Freedom was primarily aimed at evacuating nearly 23,000 civilians from 87 countries who were stranded in the Persian Gulf.

“This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation… there’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first,” Rubio said, adding that US forces would respond only if attacked.

Tensions had escalated in the region after reports of attacks on vessels and claims by the UAE that its ships were targeted by Iran. The US also said it had destroyed several Iranian small boats during the operation.

Iran reacts, rejects US claims

Reacting to the developments, Iranian officials dismissed the US allegations and rejected the justification for the naval operation. Tehran described the accusations of attacks on commercial shipping as “baseless,” and accused Washington of escalating tensions in the region through military deployment in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian authorities also warned against what they called “provocative actions,” saying foreign military presence in the Gulf would not contribute to stability and urging respect for regional sovereignty and maritime law.

With PTI inputs