U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Project Freedom, the U.S. military operation aimed at guiding ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, will be paused to see whether a peace deal can be reached between Washington and Tehran.
"While the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, 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 finalized and signed," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump said the decision was based on the request of Pakistan and other countries, as well as the "great progress ... made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran".
Hours earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. military campaign against Iran, which was jointly launched with Israel on Feb. 28, is "over", as the U.S. shifted focus to Project Freedom in efforts to reopen the crucial global energy waterway.
Meanwhile, Iran's state-run Press TV reported on Tuesday that Tehran has activated a new maritime transit management mechanism to uniformly regulate the passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. Under the new system, all ships planning to transit the strait will receive navigation rules and regulations via an official email address. Vessels must adjust their operations accordingly and obtain transit clearance before entering the strait, according to sources.
Separately, the naval command of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement on the same day, reiterating its warning to all vessels planning to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. It said the "only safe route" is the navigation corridor previously announced by Iran, and any deviation from that path is unsafe and will be met with a "decisive response" from the IRGC navy.
The IRGC statement also accused U.S. forces of conducting "dangerous actions" that disrupt maritime order and security in the region over the past day, endangering safe navigation and causing damage to some commercial ships, oil tankers, and fishing vessels.
Trump says U.S. military operation guiding ships out of Hormuz Strait to be paused
