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In a Truth Social post, Donald Trump said his decision to pause “Project Freedom” was partly based on “the reality that significant progress had been made toward a final and comprehensive agreement with Iran.” He added that the operation would be paused for a short period to determine whether the agreement can be finalized and signed.
US stock futures rose after the announcement, as investors priced in the possibility that a peace deal could reduce the US–Iran conflict and reopen the Hormuz Strait, a critical chokepoint for the global economy.
The move marked an abrupt reversal by the Trump administration. Hours earlier, the White House had described “Project Freedom” as a campaign vital to thousands of civilian sailors.
The administration said nearly 23,000 sailors aboard ships flying flags from 87 countries and territories were stuck in the Persian Gulf after Iran effectively blocked the Hormuz shipping lane.
At the White House on Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the goal of Project Freedom was to “rescue” sailors he said Iran had left behind. Rubio warned that countries not engaged in military activity faced risks not only to goods but also to their citizens’ lives due to the blockade.
According to Rubio, the sailors were nearly unable to defend themselves, isolated, lacking food, vulnerable, and at least 10 had been killed by Iran’s blockade.
Trump announced Project Freedom on Sunday night (May 3). Under the plan, the U.S. military would escort ships from around the world that were stuck near Hormuz to depart safely.
Later that day, CENTCOM said the U.S. would deploy “guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft operating on land and at sea, drone systems across terrains, and 15,000 personnel” to carry out the operation.
Iran responded to the U.S. moves with a harder line, increasing pressure on the previously fragile ceasefire with Washington.
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