President Donald Trump announced that the operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, called "Project Freedom," will be temporarily suspended to evaluate the possibility of finalizing and signing an agreement with Iran in the midst of the war.
First modification: 05/06/2026 - 03:03Last modification: 05/06/2026 - 05:37
US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday night the suspension of the operation that had begun the previous day in the Strait of Hormuz. Previously, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reported that the White House achieved its military objectives in Iran.
The president had indicated that he would respond firmly to any obstruction to the so-called "Project Freedom", but now he communicated through his social network Truth that he was suspending the initiative in Hormuz for a "brief period" to determine if an agreement could be reached with Tehran. The US president specified that he would maintain the blockade of Iranian ports.
These statements came after US lawmakers accused Donald Trump of violating the War Powers Act, which limits any military intervention to 60 days without congressional approval. The US president informed Congress on Friday that the military campaign in Iran, which began on February 28, had ended.
Washington is trying to preserve the fragile truce announced a month ago, despite the attacks reported on Tuesday by the United Arab Emirates, a country that hosts a major US military base, and despite the apparent stalemate in negotiations with Tehran since the meeting held in Islamabad on April 11 and 12. Pakistan acts as an intermediary between both parties.
On Tuesday, in a rare press conference at the White House, in the absence of the press secretary, Marco Rubio described the mission launched the day before to ensure the departure of merchant ships trapped in the Strait of Hormuz as a purely defensive and small-scale operation, independent of the bombing campaign.
"There will be no shooting unless they attack us first," he told reporters. "Operation Epic Fury is over," he added, referring to the name of the US-Israeli military campaign in Iran. Thousands of people have died in the region in less than six weeks.
However, Washington has not yet secured the approximately 400 kilograms of enriched uranium that Tehran is believed to still possess and that remains buried since last June's massive US-Israeli bombing campaign. Donald Trump reiterates his desire to ensure that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons; Tehran has repeatedly denied any intention to develop them.
Meanwhile, despite the truce announced on April 16 by Donald Trump, hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have not ceased in Lebanon. The Israeli army, which invaded southern Lebanon in March, continues its operations and the destruction of towns and villages. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued new evacuation orders this week, as more than one million Lebanese have been displaced by the Israeli military campaign.
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With Reuters
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