Trump halts mission to escort ships in Strait of Hormuz to make room for deal with Iran

After asking Iran to act "smart" to close a peace deal, President Donald Trump took an additional step in that direction. Via the social network Truth, Trump announced a temporary pause to Project Freedom, the mission to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, to open space for negotiations with the Tehran regime toward a final agreement.

"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.

Hours before the announcement, Trump had spoken from the Oval Office in an unusually conciliatory tone toward Iran. "They should do the smart thing, because we don't want to go in and kill people," the president said. "Really don't ... I don't want to, it's too tough."

"What I don't like about Iran is they'll talk to me with such great respect, and then they'll go on television, they'll say, 'We did not speak to the president,'" Trump said at the same press conference, also criticizing the ambiguity of the Iranian regime's signals. But he added that Tehran has real incentives to close a deal. "They want to make a deal, and who wouldn't? When your military is totally gone, we could do anything we want to them."

Before its hiatus, Project Freedom had had a modest reach since its launch. According to The New York Times, U.S. forces had managed to secure passage of only a few ships through the strait, while repeated attacks were recorded in the region by small boats and drones, some of which the UAE attributed to Iran.