Trump pauses effort to escort ships in Strait of Hormuz, citing talks progress

Japan Today ^ | 7 May 2026 | Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart and Yomna Ehab

[BlackVeil]

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would briefly pause an operation to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing progress toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran.

"We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will ‌remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom ... will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump wrote on social media.

[BlackVeil]

Project Freedom is the military operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz and it is now in a temporary halt. This might mean that a treaty with the Iranian government is about to be agreed - or it might mean more to and fro and conflict.

[alstewartfan]

This makes NO SENSE to me. Pakistan is MEDIATOR??? We have to do better.

[BlackVeil]

Makes not much sense to me, either. There must be a lot of activity ‘behind the scenes.’

[frank ballenger]

My personal opinion is we must have unconditional surrender from Iran. What if the Japanese and Germans would have demanded a technical ceasefire like the suspended ending of Korea?

Surrender, Iran.

[frank ballenger]

We are (most of us) Trump supporters.

Imagine what the uninformed and impatient average voter thinks of all the “bombing deadline pushed ahead 10 days” “threat of war flareup tamped down by delay again” and “possible end to war delays punishment for Iran firing on the Strait again.”

AND...gas at the pump went up again today.

NOT good for the midterms. Get this done.

[Sacajaweau]

Gas prices have gone up and down. It’s a global market. We have energy up the kazoo.

[moviefan8]

Must be taco tuesday.

[thegagline]

My personal opinion is we must have unconditional surrender from Iran.

Trump said the same thing on March 6

[SteveH]

maybe he is playing one side (eu deep state) against the other (irgc)?

[zeestephen]

Unless the current IRGC military government is permanently evicted from Iran, nothing is going to change.

[proust]

Pakistan is wagging the dog? Smells of desperation to announce another “win.” Neocon wars are easy to get into, hard to get out of.

[ETCM]

Under “Project Freedom” the US Navy transited the Strait of Hormuz and rescued 2 US flagged ships that were trapped in the gulf for over 2 months. During this rescue operation, numerous anti-ship cruise missiles and drones were fired at the ships, as well as a coordinated attack by armed small boats. None of the attacks succeeded and the small boats were destroyed. Having failed to stop the USN from escorting our ships through the strait, Iran attacked UAE’s port in Fujairah to retaliate. Apparently, our answer to Iran attacking our ships and Fujairah is to pause the escort operation. All ships inside the gulf are now essentially hostages, including the 3 remaining US flagged ships.

[Lockbox]

Boom Boom out Go The Lights…

[roving]

Pakistan is now in charge of our foreign diplomacy. How many times has Trump allowed Pakistan to tell him what to do?

[roving]

And yet, according to Trump, they still haven’t crossed that line. I wonder what line Trump is talking about.

[equaviator]

After listening to Sec's Hegseth and Rubio yesterday, I'm under the impression that they're already 80% sure of how the end of this is going to begin and how they'll decide on when it should happen. Maybe there's another countdown clock and we don't know if it's been started yet, how long it's supposed to run and whether or not it's intended to be uninterruptable.

[whitney69]

“...he would briefly pause an operation to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz...”

Islamists cannot be trusted, they lie like a rug. Walk softly but carry a big stick.

wy69

[fso301]

This makes NO SENSE to me. Pakistan is MEDIATOR??? We have to do better.

In the present context, I believe one has to regard "Pakistan" as meaning China.

[tennmountainman]

Something does not make sense.
Just a couple days ago Trump said ship crews were running
out of food and water.
What happened to crews running out of food and water?

[Adder]

What the heck are we doing? We get them on the ropes and let up on them?

They attack 2 destroyers, fail and we “pause”? Are we scared?

For the love of all that’s holy, finish these vipers! Even their own people want it!