US President Donald Trump: Project Freedom Paused Amid Progress Toward Iran Agreement

US President Donald Trump said that the US military will temporarily pause "Project Freedom" to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

Trump added that the decision was made at the request of Pakistan and other countries and follows what he called “tremendous military success” during a US campaign against Iran.

His latest statement on pausing Project Freedom came hours after the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said the US-Iran ceasefire "certainly holds" for now.

Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, 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 Truth Social platform.

Market reaction

At the time of writing, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is down 2.75% on the day at $96.90.