Trump says US to pause guiding ships through Strait of Hormuz while seeking Iran deal
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said he would pause a U.S.-led effort to help stranded ships exit the Strait of Hormuz to see if an agreement with Iran to end the war could be reached.
"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 said in a social media post Tuesday.
The president cited "Great Progress" toward "a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran." He said the decision had been made at the request of Pakistan - which is helping mediate talks between Washington and Tehran - as well as other countries. He added, however, that a U.S. blockade of ships transiting to and from Iranian ports would "remain in full force and effect."
It was not clear what progress Trump referred to, and he didn't provide details on what, if any, negotiations were in the works. His comments marked an abrupt shift from recent days when he had voiced frustration over the pace of talks and indicated he wasn't satisfied with Tehran's proposals.
Brent dropped toward $108 a barrel after sliding 4% on Tuesday, while West Texas Intermediate was near $100.
The administration appears to be looking for ways to ease the standoff that has escalated fuel prices, exacerbating economic strains that Republicans fear could lead to their party losing control of both chambers of Congress in the November midterm elections.
Hours before Trump's announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at the White House that offensive operations against Iran were over as the United States shifts to protecting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. But the targeting of another cargo vessel after a day of strikes indicated that hostilities continue.
While the U.S. now seems intent on trying to deescalate the conflict, which has killed thousands of people in Iran and Lebanon and roiled global energy markets, the pathway to a deal that reopens the strait, which carries a fifth of the world's oil exports, remains distant.
The U.S. president has cast Project Freedom as a humanitarian gesture to rescue seafarers stuck in the strait and ease the flow of commodities through the strategic waterway, which has been largely closed since the start of the war in late February. Yet the effort has been plagued by confusion and failed to address the safety concerns of shippers.
The operation spurred fresh violence Monday, posing one of the biggest challenges to the already tentative ceasefire between the United States and Iran. The American military fought off attacks from Iranian drones, missiles and armed small boats as it facilitated the passage of two U.S.-flagged vessels through the strait. The United Arab Emirates also said it had intercepted Iranian cruise missiles.
As Rubio spoke Tuesday, a British monitoring organization reported that a cargo ship in the strait had been struck by an unknown projectile. The U.S. said the shutdown around Hormuz has left more than 1,550 commercial vessels, carrying some 22,000 sailors, trapped in the Persian Gulf.
Iran has been blocking international traffic and constricting oil and gas flows, generating turmoil in energy markets.
The U.S. in turn has been blockading Iranian ports. Trump ordered the blockade more than three weeks ago in a bid to throttle Iran's crude exports and intensify economic pressure on Tehran, building leverage for talks on a potential nuclear deal.
Trump has said the standoff is damaging Iran's economy and forcing the Islamic Republic to make concessions, but the situation has spurred uncertainty in financial and energy markets with fears that there is no end in sight to a 9-week-old conflict.
Before Trump's announcement, Iran's president dismissed American demands to resume talks as "impossible."
"The problem is that while the U.S. pursues a policy of maximum pressure against our country, it also expects the Islamic Republic of Iran to come to the negotiating table and ultimately submit to its unilateral demands - an equation that is impossible," President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a call with Iraq's Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
The president and top administration officials have described challenges with talks, in part because of divisions within Iran itself.
Sometimes after an offer is made, Rubio said, "it takes five or six days to get a response," since it has to wind its way through a system and be put in front of the supreme leader.
"Their system has always been multilayered in this way. It's obviously become more complex because of the damage they suffered during the war," he said.
More Related to the War
-At the United Nations, the U.S. and its allies backed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would open the door to sanctions or even military action if Iran doesn't ease its chokehold over the strait. The proposal would require support from China and Russia to pass.
_____
(With assistance from John Harney, Eric Martin, Josh Wingrove, Eltaf Najafizada and Meghashyam Mali..)
_____
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 8:41 PM.