Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that he was pausing the mission he had begun just a day before to ensure ships’ passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a bizarre Truth Social post, Trump, 79, applauded his success before getting to his point.
The president wrote that the pause of “Project Freedom,” which Marco Rubio had described hours earlier as the successor to “Operation Epic Fury,” would be “for a short period of time.” It was “based on the request of Pakistan and other countries,” as well as the “tremendous military success” and “great progress” toward a peace agreement, Trump claimed.
The pause of Project Freedom was “to see whether or not the agreement can be finalized and signed,” he added. In the meantime, the U.S. naval blockade of Iran would “remain in full force and effect.”
Only three U.S. ships have been able to travel through the strait since the mission began, the New York Times reported. Additionally, there have been attacks via drones and small boats that the United Arab Emirates says Iran is responsible for. About 1,600 ships are stranded in or near the strait.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
“The old operation is over. The new one is on hold,” CNN anchor John Berman said Tuesday as the news broke. “We think that’s what the administration announced just moments ago.”
Iranian state media, the BBC reported, called it a victory, saying Trump “retreated” after “continued failures” to reopen the strait.
On Sunday, Trump announced that Project Freedom would entail the release of neutral ships stuck in the Persian Gulf. U.S. Central Command said 15,000 troops would support the effort, along with more than 100 aircraft, plus warships and drones.
Iran responded by threatening to attack. “We warn that any foreign armed force, especially the aggressive U.S. army, will be attacked if they attempt to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz,” the military said in a statement.
Earlier Tuesday—hours before Trump issued a pause—a U.S. military spokesperson told Al Jazeera that Project Freedom has only “just begun.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine had all said the mission would allow traffic to flow through the strait. Now, it’s on hold.
Trump’s plan—initiated as gas prices continue to rise—received a lukewarm reaction among some allies.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the plan to reopen the waterway was “very good,” but something that allies “have been asking for from the start.”
Macron added, “We are not going to take part in any forceful operation within a framework that does not seem clear to me.”
Others have said Trump risks “humiliation in full view of the world.”
Robert Pape, a University of Chicago political science professor, wrote in a Substack piece that Trump “is betting that Iran will not strike a ship under American protection. If Trump wins the bet, the United States stabilizes the corridor.”
“If it fails even once, Washington must escalate—or accept humiliation in full view of the world, he wrote.
Pape added: “By sending escorts, the United States has made itself directly responsible for keeping the corridor open. The moment a U.S.-escorted vessel is hit—by a missile, a drone, or even a proxy—the burden shifts entirely onto Washington. Back down, and every ally sees it. Escalate, and the war widens under worse conditions than at the start.”
