MANDALIKA THE MIND OF THE PEOPLE – The President of the United States (US), Donald Trump, declared a temporary suspension of military operations to escort ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
He took this decision just a day after announcing the program “Project Freedom (Project Freedom)”. The program aims to help ships get out of the strategic route amid Iran’s blockade.
Trump announced this via his social media account TruthSocial his. He said the temporary suspension was after requests from mediators, including Pakistan and a number of other countries.
He also claimed there had been “major progress” towards a final agreement with Tehran. “We have agreed that, although the blockade will remain in full force, the Freedom Project will be temporarily suspended for a short period of time to see if the agreement can be completed and signed,” said Trump, citing AFP, Wednesday, May 6 2026.
This statement came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington’s offensive operation against Iran, named “Operation Epic Fury”, had ended. Rubio made the remarks to reporters at the White House on Tuesday morning.
“The operation is over — ‘Epic Fury’ — as the President told Congress. We’re done with that phase,” Rubio said.
He emphasized that the clashes in the Strait of Hormuz were not part of the initial offensive operation. According to him, US military steps in the region are defensive in nature.
“This is not an offensive operation; this is a defensive operation. What it means is very simple — no shots unless we get shot first,” he said.
United States tensions with Iran
Tensions in the region have risen sharply in recent days. Iran claimed to have fired on the US ship, while the White House said it had sunk seven Iranian ships.
The conflict between the US, Israel and Iran has heated up since the attack on February 28. The attack killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and destroyed a number of strategic military and economic facilities.
However, the attack did not overthrow the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Tehran then responded with missile attacks and drones against various targets, which are related to US and Israeli interests in the Middle East region.
On April 8, Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran which was later extended, although the negotiation process remained deadlocked. Rubio previously stated that the United States had achieved its military objectives in the conflict.
He added that the pressure exerted had a major impact on Iran’s economic conditions. However, Washington still prioritizes settlement through diplomatic channels.
“These people are facing real and devastating damage to their economy,” Rubio said, noting that Trump still prefers to reach a negotiated deal with Iran. ***
