ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that Project Freedom, an initiative to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz, has been paused, citing requests from Pakistan as Washington eyes a potential agreement with Tehran. 

“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 [with Iran] can be finalized and signed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He explained that the decision came “at the request of Pakistan and other countries,” as well as due to “great progress” toward a “complete and final agreement” with Iranian representatives, as communication continues through mediators between the two sides.

Despite the pause, the president said that the maritime blockade imposed on Iranian ports will remain in place.

Project Freedom was announced Sunday when Trump said that “neutral countries” had asked the US to assist them in moving their ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, adding that Washington “will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted waterways.” 

In a press conference earlier on Tuesday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that, as a part of the project, two American ships, alongside destroyers, have already successfully passed through the strait, showing that the lane is clear, with hundreds of other international ships set to follow.

Claims of US ships passing through the strait were previously denied by Iranian media.

Iranian state media, citing an energy expert, dubbed Trump’s decision a “US failure in the Strait of Hormuz,” noting that the President “is losing by a large margin in the resilience game with Iran and between war or a failed agreement.”

The report asserted that Trump “will have to choose the worst option,” because if the strategic waterway remains closed for another month, it will result in “the biggest blow to the US economy and upcoming elections.”

Iran has shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway where roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil is shipped, as a means in its war against the US and Israel. In response, the US imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.