President Donald Trump said late Tuesday he will "pause" the US military mission to facilitate the exit of stranded vessels through the strait of Hormuz.
Trump cited a request from Pakistan, unnamed other countries and "the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran" among the reasons behind his decision to pause the "Project Freedom" mission, launched only a day earlier.
But the US military effort, which allowed only two US-flagged vessels to exit the Mideast Gulf, has run into stiff resistance from Tehran. The US and Iran exchanged fire on Monday, with Iran launching missiles targeting US warships transiting Hormuz while the US destroyed six Iranian naval boats. Iran also targeted the port of Fujairah in the UAE.
At least three vessels came under attack in the vicinity or in the strait of Hormuz in recent days, including a cargo vessel transiting the strait on Tuesday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency.
Trump announced the decision to pause the Project Freedom mission only hours after senior US military officials and US secretary of state Marco Rubio cast it as a first step toward forcing Tehran to give up its control over Hormuz. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth went as far as to claim that the first day of US military operations already established safe passage for ships looking to transit through Hormuz. Iran "said they control the strait," Hegseth said, adding that "They do not."
Trump cast the pause in Project Freedom as a "mutual decision" — presumably with Tehran — and said that the pause would last "for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed."
Tehran did not immediately react to Trump's announcement. Tehran earlier on Tuesday said it would require all ships seeking to pass through Hormuz to obtain a transit permit from a newly created agency, "the Persian Gulf Strait Authority", according to Iran's state TV broadcaster.
