US operation to escort ships in Hormuz on pause two days after being announced

Written by journalist Danylo Aleksandrov

Operation by US forces to guide vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz will be put on pause just two days after the US President Donald Trump announced it.

On Sunday Trump announced this operation, which he called “Project Freedom”. It was to begin on Monday morning and would require the US military ships to escort and guide trade ships which were blocked in Strait of Hormuz – a vital waterway which became a battlefield since the start of US and Israel operation against Iran. As the hostilities began, Iranian forces blocked the Strait, using mines and attacking ships attempting to pass through. This caused a shortage in oil supplies which in turned influenced fuel prices around the world, as well as concerns for global instability.

Trump declared a pause in “Project Freedom” 50 hours after declaring it. US Central Command (Centcom) said in its social media, that two ships under the flag of the US have successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Before, Centcom stated that the operation will be supported by a host of destroyers, as well as different aircraft and military personnel. Meanwhile Trump said that US military sunk seven Iranian small ships, information disputed by Iran.

But on Tuesday evening, just after several US high-ranking officials like Hegseth and Rubio praised “Project Freedom”, Donald Trump announced that the operation will be paused, as "great progress" had been achieved on a peace deal with Iran. Just after 4 hours a ship belonging to a French company was attacked, causing damage to the ship and injuring its personnel.

It is still unclear how the situation with ships remaining in the Strait of Hormuz will develop, as the now paused US operation did not instill enough confidence in insurers. As such, it is expected that instability in the region will continue.