President Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening that he was pausing “Project Freedom,” the U.S. military operation to guide commercial ships through the Iranian-blockaded Strait of Hormuz , citing “great progress” toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran .

The operation, launched just Monday, aimed to break through Iran’s stranglehold on the strategic waterway that has been effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel launched their attack on Iran on February 28 . Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the mission’s goal was to rescue nearly 23,000 civilians from 87 countries stranded in the Persian Gulf .

” 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 ,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, announcing the pause “to see whether or not the agreement can be finalized and signed” .

The dramatic about-face came after intense fighting erupted in the strait during the operation’s brief 48-hour lifespan. The United Arab Emirates said Monday it was attacked with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones from Iran, resulting in three injuries . U.S. forces destroyed seven small Iranian boats while Iran launched attacks on UAE facilities and ships in the strait .

Rubio revealed at a White House briefing Tuesday that at least 10 civilian sailors have already died due to the blockade, describing stranded crew members as “sitting ducks” who are “isolated, starving, and vulnerable” . For more than two months, innocent sailors and commercial crew members have been stranded at sea because of Iran’s “desperate and destructive” blockade , he said.

” Nations from around the world, the overwhelming majority of whom are not even engaged in any military hostilities, are now at risk not just of losing their cargo but the lives of their own citizens because of this blockade ,” Rubio said during the briefing.

The humanitarian crisis in the Gulf has reached catastrophic proportions. More than 20,000 sailors aboard around 1,600 vessels are trapped in the region, with at least 10 sailors killed since the start of the war, according to the International Maritime Organization .

Two U.S.-flagged merchant ships successfully transited through the strait during the brief operation , though the U.S. military said the mission came under fire from Iranian forces and that several Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboats were sunk .

The Strait of Hormuz serves as a critical artery handling some 20% of world oil supplies , and its closure has caused a historic global energy supply shock that has dramatically raised oil and gas prices . Oil futures fell $2.30 and broke below $100 per barrel following Trump’s announcement .

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the operation’s defensive nature during a Pentagon briefing Tuesday. ” Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope, temporary in duration with one mission: protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression ,” he said.

However, experts questioned whether the operation could succeed. ” In my view, it’s not a solution at all ,” said Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow at Defense Priorities. Iran “clearly has an asymmetric capability” to continue exerting control in the region , noted Fernando Ferreira of Rapidan Energy Group.

The crisis traces back to the broader U.S.-Iran conflict that began when Trump announced “major combat operations” against Iran on February 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites . Following initial peace talks in Pakistan that failed in April, Trump announced an open-ended ceasefire extension and continuation of a U.S. blockade .

Rubio declared Tuesday that “Operation Epic Fury is concluded,” saying the U.S. had achieved its military objectives but was “not cheering for an additional situation to occur” .

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday offered safe passage through the strait, stating that “with the end of the aggressors’ threats and in light of new procedures, safe and sustainable transit through the strait will be facilitated” .

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday that Iran is assessing the Trump administration’s latest proposal and will relay its response through mediating country Pakistan . However, Trump warned that if Iran doesn’t agree to terms, “the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before” .

The pause in Project Freedom leaves thousands