TEHRAN - President Donald Trump’s decision to pause the so-called “Project Freedom” lays bare his desperation to open the Strait of Hormuz through military force.

Trump announced on social media that he would put the mission on hold amid his attempts to create a fabricated sense of victory in the context of the joint war that the US and Israel launched against Iran on February 28.

“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 posted on Truth Social on Tuesday.

Trump announced the new initiative on Sunday to help guide ships stranded by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

On Monday, Iran's military said it fired at US warships to deter them from navigating the Strait of Hormuz. Iran also dismissed US claims that the so-called “Project Freedom” oversaw the transit of two commercial vessels out of the Strait on Monday.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) commenced Operation Epic Fury at Trump’s direction on February 28. After 39 days of war, Washington failed to achieve its main objectives, which mainly included destroying Iran’s military capabilities and reshaping the Iranian leadership in its favor.

The April 8 ceasefire between Tehran and Washington was expected to last for two weeks, but Trump indefinitely extended it on April 21. The US also imposed a naval blockade on Iran after Pakistani-mediated talks between Iranian and American representatives failed in Islamabad following the announcement of the ceasefire.

Iran asserted full control of the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israel aggression at the beginning of the war. It has allowed only vessels with its permission to pass through. Reports suggest that more than 20,000 sailors aboard around 1,600 vessels are trapped in the region.

The restriction of shipping through the Strait has led to surging oil and gas prices and higher costs of other commodities around the world, which could persist, especially as Iran wants to continue managing the Strait after the war. American consumers feel the pinch of the closure of the waterway as average US fuel prices hover around $4.50 a gallon, their highest level in four years.

Besides, the repercussions of the war with Iran have backfired on Trump and his supporters. A majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the Iran conflict by a margin of 66 percent to 33 percent, while his overall disapproval rating has reached 62 percent — the highest of his two terms in office.

Democrats accuse Trump of plunging the US into the quagmire of war, as media experts accuse him of making miscalculations and underestimating Iran’s military power and resilience.

According to a Washington Post analysis of satellite imagery, Iranian retaliatory airstrikes have damaged or destroyed at least 228 structures or pieces of equipment at US military sites across the Middle East since the war began more than two months ago, hitting hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft, and key radar, communications, and air defense equipment. The analysis said the amount of destruction is far larger than what has been publicly acknowledged by the US government or previously reported.

More importantly, world leaders have snubbed Trump’s call to join his war efforts. In a blow to the White House, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested that Washington appears to lack a clear strategy and questioned what kind of exit plan the US administration might pursue. Merz has said the US has been “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that Operation Epic Fury had concluded. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the US had now shifted to a “defensive” position aimed at restoring shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

On Monday, Trump had said Iran would be “blown off the face of the Earth” if it attacked US ships, echoing his earlier threats to wipe out a “whole civilization” if Iran did not open the Strait.
But comments made by his war and defense secretaries and the pause in “Project Freedom” tell a different story.

The Trump administration has realized that it cannot force Iran to surrender via military means. But Trump maintains his threats to create the perception that the US has the upper hand. Such positions are only aimed at domestic audiences to find an off-ramp and a face-saving exit from the quagmire of war with Iran.