
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday night announced the suspension of “Project Freedom,” the military operation launched barely 24 hours earlier to escort stranded vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, citing significant progress toward a peace agreement with Iran. The announcement, posted on his Truth Social platform, contradicted the messaging sustained throughout the day by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Joint Chiefs chairman General Dan Caine, all of whom had framed the operation as a non-negotiable humanitarian rescue mission for stranded sailors.
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US military forces on Monday destroyed six Iranian Revolutionary Guard fast boats and neutralised cruise missiles and drones launched against warships and commercial vessels during the first day of Project Freedom, the operation announced by President Donald Trump to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic. The two US destroyers that led the transit — the USS Truxtun and USS Mason — passed through the strait without being struck, despite what US Central Command described as a sustained barrage of Iranian threats.
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Brent crude closed on Friday at $105.33 a barrel, accumulating a gain of nearly ten dollars from the start of the week, in a market dominated by uncertainty over the US-Iran conflict and the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The European benchmark crude touched $107.40 on Thursday — its weekly peak — before moderating its advance.

US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday without setting a deadline, hours before his own two-week truce was set to expire without a deal. The decision came as Iran attacked two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, with the White House declining to characterise the strikes as a ceasefire violation on the grounds that neither vessel was American or Israeli.

Iran's reopening of the Strait of Hormuz lasted less than 24 hours. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared on Saturday that it had reimposed strict control over the maritime corridor, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas transits. At least two vessels reported being hit by gunfire while attempting to cross the strait, according to three maritime security sources cited by Reuters. It has not been confirmed whether the shots caused damage.

Iran announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz will remain fully open to merchant shipping until the ceasefire with the United States expires next Wednesday. The decision, linked to the start of the 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon announced by Trump on Thursday, triggered an immediate drop in oil prices of nearly 10% and strong relief across global markets.

Two oil tankers reversed course as they approached the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, just hours after the US naval blockade against Iranian ports took effect, according to maritime tracking platform MarineTraffic. Brent crude for June delivery closed up 4.4% at $99.36 per barrel, while US benchmark WTI rose 2.6% to $99.08, according to Bloomberg.

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the Navy would immediately begin blocking all maritime traffic attempting to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz, and ordered the interception on the high seas of any vessel that has paid a toll to Iran.

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the U.S.-based Fertilizer Institute (TFI) announced a partnership to secure fertilizer supply across the Americas, amid logistical disruptions and price volatility worsened by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war between the United States, Israel and Iran.

Iran suspended tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz just hours after its ceasefire with the United States took effect, in response to continued Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The move jeopardizes a truce that had barely begun to ease the worst global energy crisis in decades.