US President Donald Trump will briefly pause US ship escorts in the Strait of Hormuz to explore the possibility of making a deal with Iran.
Trump wrote this on his social media account, Truth Social, on Wednesday night, Danish time.
The president has called the operation to escort ships in the Strait of Hormuz "Project Freedom".
- "Project Freedom" (the escort of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, ed.) is being paused for a short period of time to see if the deal can be finalized and signed, Donald Trump wrote.
The president says the US will maintain the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump: Great progress has been made
The US military has blocked entry and exit to Iranian ports in recent weeks in an attempt to pressure Iran.
Donald Trump writes that the US escorting of ships in the strait is being paused by mutual agreement following requests from Pakistan and other countries.
The president adds that at the same time, great progress has been made towards what he describes as a complete and final agreement with Iran.
Donald Trump has previously demanded that Iran agree in an agreement that it will not work towards obtaining nuclear weapons.
No known negotiations
There have been no physical negotiations between the US and Iran since a meeting in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on April 11. The negotiations took place a few days after the countries had agreed to a ceasefire.
At that time, the American delegation, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, left without a peace agreement.
Shortly afterwards, Trump announced a US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
On Monday, the US began escorting stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz.
Among others, a Maersk-owned ship sailing under the US flag was escorted through the strait by the US military on Monday.
/ritzau/
