Breaking News: Trump halts 'Freedom Project', first reaction from Iran

US President Donald Trump has announced that the "Freedom Project," which aims to facilitate ship passages in the Strait of Hormuz, has been temporarily suspended.

In a post on his social media account, Trump made assessments regarding the current status of the operation being conducted in the Strait of Hormuz.

"SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS MADE IN TALKS"

Trump used the following expressions in his statement:

"At the request of Pakistan and other countries, due to the tremendous military successes we have achieved in our operations against Iran, and also because great progress has been made toward reaching a full and final agreement with Iranian representatives, we have mutually decided to pause the Freedom Project for a short time to see if the agreement (between the parties) can be finalized and signed, while the blockade remains fully in effect."

IRANIAN MEDIA: TRUMP TOOK A STEP BACK

The Iranian press evaluated Trump's decision to halt the project as a "failure." The semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported the development to its readers with the headline "Trump took a step back, the so-called 'Freedom Project' has been stopped."

In a statement on May 4, Trump announced that support would be provided for the passage of ships belonging to "neutral" countries that were stranded in the Strait of Hormuz and had no direct connection to the crisis in the region, and he named this initiative the "Freedom Project."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a press conference at the White House, had stated that the "Freedom Project" was launched for the evacuation of approximately 23 thousand civilians from 87 countries in the Gulf due to Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz.