The United States and Iran have reportedly reached an agreement to ease the American naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz in return for the gradual reopening of the strategic waterway.
According to Al Arabiya, the understanding was reached on Thursday after tensions between the two countries had disrupted global energy supplies following Iranโs decision to block the Strait of Hormuz at the beginning of the US-Iran conflict.
โAgreements have been reached regarding easing the blockade in exchange for the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The coming hours will witness the release of ships stuck in the strait,โ sources told Al Arabiya.
US pauses project Freedom
President Donald Trump has announced the suspension of โProject Freedomโ, the American operation launched to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing progress in negotiations with Iran aimed at ending the ongoing conflict.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump claimed that โgreat progressโ had been made towards a โcomplete and final agreementโ with Iranian representatives.
โBased on the request of Pakistan and other countries, the tremendous military success that we have had during the campaign against Iran 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 finalised and signed,โ Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort vessels stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday, following which the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the operation led to rising tensions around the narrow strategic waterway, which carries nearly one fifth of the worldโs oil supplies. The United Arab Emirates claimed that some of its ships were attacked by Iran, while the US said it had destroyed several Iranian small boats in the region.
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