A ship waits to pass through the Strait of Hormuz following the two-week temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran.
Shady Alassar/Anadolu via Getty Images
- The US will pause the operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, said President Donald Trump.
- US crude oil futures fell $2.30 and broke below $100 per barrel.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States had achieved its objectives in its military campaign.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would briefly pause an operation to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing “great progress” toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran.
Hours earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had outlined the effort that began on Monday to escort stranded tankers out of the Gulf.
The strait has been virtually shut since the conflict began, blocking some 20% of world oil supplies and igniting a global energy crisis.
“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 finalised and signed,” Trump wrote on social media.
There was no immediate reaction from Tehran, where it was early on Wednesday morning.
READ | Ceasefire teetering as Trump threatens Iran will be ‘blown off the face of the earth’
Shortly after Trump’s post, US crude oil futures fell $2.30 and broke below $100 per barrel, a much-watched threshold since the conflict sent energy prices soaring two months ago.
The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment on what progress had been made, or how long the pause would last.
SECRETARY RUBIO: We’re asking the UN to call on Iran to stop blowing up ships, remove the mines, and allow humanitarian relief.
If the international community can’t rally behind this and solve something so straightforward, then I don’t know what the utility of the UN system is. pic.twitter.com/3bcMg6gEsD
Rubio and other senior administration officials said earlier on Tuesday that Iran could not be allowed to control traffic through the strait.
Iran has effectively sealed off the strait by threatening to deploy mines, drones, missiles and fast-attack craft.
The US has countered by blockading Iranian ports and mounting escorted transits for commercial vessels.
The US military said on Monday it had destroyed several Iranian small boats, as well as cruise missiles and drones.
Rubio told reporters at the White House that the United States had achieved its objectives in its military campaign, which was launched on 28 February alongside Israel.
“Operation Epic Fury is concluded,” Rubio said.
“We’re not cheering for an additional situation to occur.”
“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…” - President… pic.twitter.com/R9SlC4w68g
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 5, 2026One of Trump’s central objectives in launching military strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon, something Tehran has denied seeking.
However, Iran has not handed over more than 400kg of highly enriched uranium.
While Rubio was speaking, Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a cargo vessel had been struck by a projectile in the strait.
Further details of the incident were not immediately available.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier on Tuesday that the US had successfully secured a path through the waterway and that hundreds of commercial ships were lining up to pass through.
The four-week-old truce with Iran was not over, he added.
“Right now, the ceasefire certainly holds, but we’re going to be watching very, very closely,” he said.
USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) transits the Arabian Sea as U.S. forces enforce the naval blockade against Iran from the Gulf of Oman and support Project Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz. The carrier has more than 60 aircraft on board. pic.twitter.com/u7U9YyhBO8
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 5, 2026General Dan Caine, chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iranian attacks against US forces fell “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point”.
Asked what Iran would need to do to violate the ceasefire, Trump said: “They know what not to do.”
Shortly after Hegseth spoke, the UAE’s defence ministry said its air defences were again dealing with missile and drone attacks coming from Iran, though Iran’s joint military command denied carrying out attacks.
The UAE’s foreign ministry said the attacks were a serious escalation and posed a direct threat to the country’s security, adding that the Gulf Arab state reserved its “full and legitimate right” to respond.
Iran’s foreign ministry rejected Abu Dhabi’s statements, saying its armed forces’ actions have been solely aimed at repelling American aggression.
Iran didn’t control the Strait two months ago. Americans weren’t paying $5/gallon at the pump two months ago.
Project Freedom is not a “separate effort.” This is all part of the same war Trump started.
The American people aren't buying Pete Hegseth's lies. pic.twitter.com/BSeJ9iIb2b
The US military said on Monday that two US merchant ships made it through the strait, without saying when, while shipping company Maersk said the Alliance Fairfax, a US-flagged ship, exited the Gulf under US military escort on Monday.
Iran denied any crossings had taken place.
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