Trump Suspends Iran Operation After Saudi Arabia Denies Airspace Access

Saudi Arabia’s refusal of support suggests that President Trump’s unpredictable approach to Iran has strained ties with one of his closest allies in the Middle East.

<p>President Trump said Tuesday he's suspending the new U.S. military operation in the Strait of Hormuz due to progress in the negotiations with <a href="https://www.axios.com/world/iran" target="_blank">Iran</a> on an agreement to end the war.</p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> The operation to <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/05/iran-strait-hormuz-operation-trump-warning" target="_blank">"guide" ships</a> through the Strait of Hormuz, which was launched Monday, led to an <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/04/iran-attack-uae-missiles-ceasefire-hormuz" target="_blank">exchange of fire</a> between the U.S. and Iran and to Iranian missile attacks on the United Arab Emirates for the first time since the ceasefire was announced a month ago.</p><hr /><p><strong>What he's saying:</strong> "Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries ... 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 will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social.</p>

<p>A high-level Trump administration official informed <a href="https://www.axios.com/world/iran" target="_blank">Iran</a> on Sunday of the impending U.S. <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/03/trump-us-navy-iran-ships-strait-hormuz" target="_blank">operation</a> to "guide" ships through the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/04/strait-hormuz-us-merchant-ships-cross" target="_blank">Strait of Hormuz</a> and warned Tehran not to interfere, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge.</p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> The private message suggests the White House wanted to mitigate the risk of potential escalation. But despite the warning, the Iranians launched a string of attacks on U.S. Navy ships, commercial vessels and the United Arab Emirates.</p><hr /><p><strong>State of play: </strong>On Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs chair Gen. Dan Caine downplayed the Iranian attacks and claimed the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/04/iran-attack-uae-missiles-ceasefire-hormuz" target="_blank">ceasefire</a> remained in place.</p><ul><li>Nevertheless, some U.S. and Israeli officials believe President Trump could give an order to resume the war later this week if the diplomatic stalemate continues. </li></ul><p><strong>Behind the scenes:</strong> The warning about "Project Freedom" came on Sunday and aligned with the <a href="https://truthsocial.com/%40realDonaldTrump/posts/116512555123589170" target="_blank">Truth Social post</a> Trump published that evening.</p><ul><li>Hegseth said on Tuesday that the U.S. "is communicating both overtly and quietly to the Iranians to allow this defensive operation to take place on behalf of the world."</li><li>White House spokesperson Anna Kelly referred Axios to Trump's Truth Social post but declined to comment further. </li></ul><p><strong>Driving the news:</strong> During the first day of the operation on Monday, Iran conducted several attacks on U.S. Navy ships that passed through the strait, as well as on other commercial vessels in the region and on targets in the UAE. </p><ul><li>Caine claimed at Tuesday's press conference that the Iranian attacks were "below the threshold of restarting major combat operations."</li><li>"Right now, the ceasefire holds," Hegseth said. He claimed the U.S. expected "there would be some churn" at the beginning of the Hormuz operation. </li><li>"There are some actions the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] takes sometimes that are outside the bounds of what maybe Iranian negotiators would like. That's their job to rein them in and create the conditions for a deal," Hegseth said.</li><li>Both Hegseth and Caine said the U.S. military stood ready to resume the war quickly if Trump orders it. </li></ul><p><strong>Zoom in: </strong>The U.S. operation did not meaningfully increase the flow of oil or cargo through the strait in its first 24 hours. CENTCOM reported two U.S.-flagged ships had traveled through on Monday, and none on Tuesday.</p><ul><li>Hegseth claimed "hundreds more ... are lining up." At the moment, though, it seems most shipping companies do not trust the administration's assurances that a lane is now open.</li><li>"We would urge Iran to be prudent in the actions they take," Hegseth said. </li></ul><p><strong>The other side:</strong> There have been no new Iranian attacks on ships on Tuesday. Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X that Iran managed to create a "<a href="https://x.com/mb_ghalibaf/status/2051542580597338168" target="_blank">new equation</a>" with its retaliation on Monday. </p><ul><li>Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi <a href="https://x.com/araghchi/status/2051419381981409354" target="_blank">claimed</a> the negotiations with the U.S., mediated by Pakistan, "are making progress." He called on the Trump administration not to get "dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers."</li></ul><p><strong>The latest: </strong>The<strong> </strong>UAE's Defense Ministry said Iran launched a new missile and drone attack against the country on Tuesday and air defense systems had responded. </p>

<p>President Trump was fed up with the "no deal, no war" stalemate in <a href="https://www.axios.com/world/iran" target="_blank">Iran</a>. The <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/03/trump-us-navy-iran-ships-strait-hormuz" target="_blank">operation he ordered</a> to change that dynamic<strong> </strong>could ultimately lead back to war.</p><ul><li>"The president wants action. He doesn't want to sit still. He wants pressure. He wants a deal," a senior U.S. official told Axios. </li></ul><p><strong>The intrigue:</strong> Trump was presented with a plan on Thursday night to send naval vessels through the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/30/oil-prices-iran-highest-levels" target="_blank">Strait of Hormuz</a> to open it by force. At the last minute, he opted for a more cautious approach, at least initially.</p><hr /><p><strong>Driving the news:</strong> Starting Monday, the U.S. Navy will help U.S.-flagged and other commercial ships cross the strait by advising them on how to avoid mines and standing ready to intervene if Iran attacks them.</p><ul><li>U.S. officials say there's no current plan for full-fledged naval escorts.</li><li>Instead, Navy ships will be "in the vicinity" and at the ready, alongside U.S. military aircraft.</li><li>U.S. military support to "Project Freedom" will include guided-missile destroyers, drones, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft and 15,000 troops, CENTCOM said.</li><li>A U.S. official said the rules of engagement for U.S. forces in the region have been changed and they were authorized to strike immediate threats against ships that cross the strait, like IRGC fast boats or Iranian missile positions. </li></ul><p><strong>Between the lines: </strong>A source close to the president described this as the "beginning of a process that could lead to a confrontation with the Iranians."</p><ul><li>The "humanitarian" mission to free ships stranded in the strait means "if the Iranians do something, they will be the bad guys and we will have the legitimacy to act," the source contended.</li></ul><p><strong>Behind the scenes:</strong> CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper presented Trump on Thursday with a more ambitious plan to send Navy ships through the strait.</p><ul><li>A U.S. official with knowledge of that plan said the U.S. would have taken out any missiles or fast boats the Iranians launched in response, and resumed the war with full force if Iran escalated by attacking Gulf countries.</li><li>The current version carries less risk of immediate escalation but could also leave the stalemate largely in place.</li></ul><p><strong>The other side:</strong> The Iranian reaction will determine how "Project Freedom" develops.</p><ul><li>Iran attacked vessels trying to pass through the strait almost every day over the past week.</li><li>Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, threatened retaliation for Trump's move on X.</li><li>"WARNING. Any American interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire. The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf would not be managed by Trump's delusional posts!" he wrote. </li></ul><p><strong>The latest: </strong>On Monday, the Iranian armed forces said in a statement that "U.S. aggressive actions will only complicate the current situation" and endanger security of vessels in the Gulf.</p><ul><li>It called on all commercial ships and tankers to refrain from passing through the strait without coordination with the Iranian military.</li><li>Several<strong> </strong>U.S. Navy ships started moving from the<strong> </strong>Arabian sea towards the strait on Monday afternoon local time. Iran's Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, claimed two Iranian missiles hit a U.S. navy ship<strong>.</strong></li><li>CENTCOM denied that claim and said "U.S. forces are supporting Project Freedom and enforcing the naval blockade on Iranian ports."</li></ul><p><strong>The big picture:</strong> The diplomacy is not entirely frozen. Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are still exchanging drafts with Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi.</p><ul><li>"There are talks. There are offers. We don't like theirs. They don't like ours. We still don't know the status of the [supreme leader]. And they're carrying messages by hand to caves or wherever he or whoever is hiding. It slows the process down," one senior U.S. official said.</li><li>Witkoff has been advising Trump to continue the negotiations and presenting an optimistic assessment about the odds of a deal, but other senior officials are far more pessimistic, several U.S. officials said.</li></ul><p><strong>The bottom line:</strong> "It's either we're looking at the real contours of an achievable deal soon, or he's going to bomb the hell out of them," the senior official said. </p>

<p>President Trump said the U.S. Navy will start guiding ships from foreign countries through the Strait of Hormuz from Monday and warned that if <a href="https://www.axios.com/world/iran" target="_blank">Iran</a> tries to disrupt the process, the American military will use force. </p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> This move that <a href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump</a> called "Project Freedom" is the most significant step by his administration to try and reopen <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/01/us-blockade-oman-cost-iran-5-million" target="_blank">the key strait</a> since Iran shut it down early in the war. </p><hr /><ul><li>While Trump claims the move is "humanitarian," it is a clear U.S. challenge to Tehran's effort to control <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/27/iran-us-hormuz-strait-nuclear-talks-proposal-pakistan" target="_blank">the strait</a>. An Iranian military response could spark a confrontation or even an escalation back to war. </li></ul><p><strong>The latest: </strong>The new Hormuz Strait initiative will not necessarily include U.S. Navy ships escorting commercial ships, according to two American officials.</p><ul><li>One of the officials said U.S. Navy ships will be "in the vicinity" in case they need to prevent Iran's military from <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/18/iran-closes-strait-of-hormuz-once-again-fires-on-tankers" target="_blank">attacking commercial ships</a> moving through the strait. </li><li>The officials said the U.S. navy is going to provide commercial ships with information on the best maritime lanes in the strait especially when it comes to using lanes that were not <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/23/iran-strait-hormuz-mines-trump" target="_blank">mined by the Iranian military</a>.</li></ul><p><strong>What he's saying:</strong> Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/%40realDonaldTrump/posts/116512555123589170" target="_blank">wrote</a> on Truth Social that countries from around the world that are not involved in the war but have ships stuck in the strait have asked the U.S. to help free them.</p><ul><li>Many of these ships are running low on food and other supplies for their crews and suffer from health and sanitary problems, Trump said.</li><li>'The Ship movement is merely meant to free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong — They are victims of circumstance. This is a Humanitarian gesture on behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern Countries but, in particular, the Country of Iran," Trump said. </li><li>"We have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business," he added. </li><li>"If, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully."</li></ul><p><strong>The intrigue: </strong>It was not immediately clear whether this move was coordinated with Iran in any way. </p><ul><li>Iranian officials did not immediately respond publicly to Trump's announcement.</li></ul><p><strong>The big picture:</strong> Trump wrote his representatives "are having very positive discussions" with Iran and stressed these discussions "could lead to something very positive for all." </p><ul><li>The U.S. sent on Sunday another amended draft for an agreement to end the war in response to Iranian officials' latest proposal, sources said. </li></ul><p><em>Editor's note: This article has been updated with more details on the new initiative and further context.</em></p>

<p>Project Freedom appears to be aimed, at least for now, at evacuating ships stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war with Iran began.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.twz.com/news-features/first-ships-transit-strait-of-hormuz-under-new-u-s-protection-plan">First Ships Transit Strait Of Hormuz Under New U.S. Protection Plan</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.twz.com">The War Zone</a>.</p>