{"id":66,"date":"2026-05-06T21:08:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T21:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=66"},"modified":"2026-05-06T21:08:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T21:08:54","slug":"iran-latest-project-freedom-pause-could-pave-way-for-iran-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=66","title":{"rendered":"Iran latest: \u201cProject Freedom” pause could pave way for Iran deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United States military halted its recent initiative to help ships stranded in the Persian Gulf navigate safely through the Strait of Hormuz, so those vessels can reach their destinations.<\/p>

Read more Hantavirus outbreak: 3 more patients evacuated from cruise ship<\/a><\/p>

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday a pause in the program, dubbed “Project Freedom,” while noting that the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remains in effect. The president attributed the move to requests from other countries, including Pakistan, whose leadership has been moderating negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.<\/p>

The post addressed the peace talks, as well, with Trump stating that “great progress” had been made toward a final agreement with Iranian leadership. He said the decision to put “Project Freedom” on hold would allow time to see if a permanent deal could be reached.\u00a0<\/p>

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U.S. Navy MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters are supporting Project Freedom in and near the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier today, Sea Hawk and U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopters were used to eliminate Iranian small boats threatening commercial shipping. (U.S. Nav<\/span> <\/p>

Expand<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the situation for crews stuck on board those ships during a news conference held hours before Trump\u2019s announcement. Calling the sailors “innocent bystanders,” Rubio pointed out they were running out of food and supplies.<\/p>

“They\u2019re sitting ducks, they\u2019re isolated, they\u2019re starving, they\u2019re vulnerable,” Rubio said. “At least 10 sailors have already died as a result.”<\/p>

Outside of Trump\u2019s social media post, there has been little word on the progress of negotiations with Iran since talks collapsed last month. As of Tuesday night, the White House had not released details about new activity in light of the president\u2019s announcement.<\/p>

Read more 3 \u2018Sloth World\u2019 sloths rescued from Florida warehouse have died: What we know<\/a><\/p>

Here is the latest:<\/p>

52 ships turned away at blockade<\/h2>

12:34 p.m. ET: <\/strong>The United States blockade of Iranian-based ships has turned away 52 ships at the Strait of Hormuz.\u00a0<\/p>

In a social media post on X, U.S. Central Command updated the latest number of commercial vessels the blockade has enforced against Iran.\u00a0<\/p>

US and Iran close to a deal<\/h2>

10:38 a.m. ET:<\/strong> A report from Axios says the White House believes they close to an agreement on a one-page memorandum to end the war with Iran.\u00a0<\/p>

In his latest social media post about Iran, President Trump said “if they don’t agree, the bombing starts.”<\/p>

The White House has not responded to questions about the possible agreement. \u00a0<\/p>

China weighs in on Iran conflict<\/h2>

7:05 a.m. ET: <\/strong>China’s foreign minister Wang Yi met with Iranian Abbas Araghchi and said he was “deeply distressed” by the conflict, calling for a comprehensive ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.\u00a0<\/p>

Araghchi visited China for the first time since the war started. President Trump is scheduled for a planned to Beijing for a high-profile summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 14-15.<\/p>

Read more Trump pauses plan to guide ships through Strait of Hormuz, says \u2018great progress\u2019 made toward deal<\/a><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United States military halted its recent initiative to help ships stranded in the Persian Gulf navigate safely through the Strait of Hormuz, so those vessels can reach their destinations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iran-war","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\nIran latest: \u201cProject Freedom" pause could pave way for Iran deal - Houston Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=66\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iran latest: \u201cProject Freedom" pause could pave way for Iran deal - 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