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Live Updates: Iran quiet as Trump says Strait of Hormuz effort paused amid “great progress” toward peace deal
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Tucker Reals
Tucker Reals
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Tucker Reals is CBSNews.com’s foreign editor, based in the CBS News London bureau. He has worked for CBS News since 2006, prior to which he worked for The Associated Press in Washington, D.C., and London.
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What to know about the Iran war today:
- Iran has yet to react publicly to President Trump’s announcement of a pause in the brief Project Freedom mission to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which prompted the first Iranian attacks on vessels in the strait and against U.S. Gulf allies in almost a month.
- Mr. Trump put Project Freedom on pause Tuesday night, saying it was to see if “a Complete and Final Agreement” to end the war with Iran could be nailed down amid what he called “great progress” in negotiations brokered by Pakistan.
- The 180-degree turn on Project Freedom after just one day came hours after Pentagon leaders lauded it as a resounding success, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared it the new phase of the standoff with Iran, saying the Epic Fury military operation had “concluded.”
New Updates
2m ago
Israel announces new strikes in Lebanon as Hezbollah attack leaves 2 soldiers wounded
Israel’s military said Wednesday that two soldiers were “moderately and lightly injured” in a Hezbollah drone and rocket attack on forces taking part in the ongoing invasion of southern Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces said in its statement that the Air Force had “intercepted a hostile aircraft prior to crossing into Israeli territory” in a separate incident.
Shortly after, the IDF said it had launched new strikes on “Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites in several areas in southern Lebanon.”
In a statement posted on social media, Iranian-backed Hezbollah confirmed that it had attacked Israeli soldiers in two locations in southern Lebanon, claiming it was “in defense of Lebanon and its people,” and in response to what it described as Israeli violations of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and attacks on villages in the south that it said had caused civilian deaths and injuries.
Smoke rises from Israeli bombardment on the village of Mayfadoun, as seen from nearby Marjayoun, in southern Lebanon, May 6, 2026.
AFP/Getty
Israel and Hezbollah have continued exchanging regular fire since President Trump first announced the ceasefire in Lebanon, both always claiming to act in self defense and accusing the other of violating the truce.
The ongoing fighting in Lebanon has remained a major complicating factor in efforts by Pakistan to broker a diplomatic end of the war between the U.S. and Iran. Tehran has thus far refused to agree to any wider peace deal that doesn’t include a halt to Israel’s fight with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
By
Khaled Wassef, Tucker Reals
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26m ago
Iranian state media says future of Strait of Hormuz will “likely reflect a new balance of power”
Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for energy supplies long kept completely open under international law, will be controlled in the future under a new system that “will likely reflect a new balance of power and security considerations” in the region, with bordering states Iran and Oman playing a central role, Iranian state news agency IRNA claimed Wednesday.
The report said Iranian and Omani officials had previously discussed potential joint mechanisms to manage maritime traffic, ensure safe passage, and introduce coordinated protocols for vessel movement once conditions in the region “stabilize.”
IRNA said the proposals were framed as efforts to improve security and organization for shipping traffic in the strait, rather than to restrict navigation that had, until the U.S. and Israel launched their joint war on Iran on Feb. 28, been completely free and unfettered.
The article said Iran considers the Strait of Hormuz strategically linked to its national security, and that any long-term governance or operational structure for the waterway should be determined through regional dialogue, particularly with neighboring coastal states.
A picture obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026 shows the Iran-flagged tugboat Basim near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.
Amirhossein KHORGOOEI/ISNA/AFP via Getty
IRNA said recent developments had underscored the geopolitical importance of the strait, noting the severe global energy price hikes amid constraints on commercial traffic through the waterway during the war.
The U.S. and its regional allies in the Persian Gulf have accused Iran of piracy for its attacks on and threats against commercial vessels, which have gridlocked traffic in the strait.
By
Khaled Wassef, Tucker Reals
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44m ago
Pakistani leader says Trump pausing Project Freedom “will go a long way towards advancing regional peace”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lauded President Trump on Wednesday for pausing Project Freedom, saying the halt to the brief U.S. military operation to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz — which prompted Iran to attack ships and Gulf States for the first time in weeks — would “go a long way towards advancing regional peace, stability and reconciliation.”
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“We are very hopeful that the current momentum will lead to a lasting agreement that secures durable peace and stability for the region and beyond,” said Sharif, whose country has served as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington, in a social media post.
“I am grateful to President Donald Trump for his courageous leadership and timely announcement regarding the pause in Project Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz,” said the Pakistani leader, adding that his country “remains firmly committed to supporting all efforts that promote restraint and a peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy.”
Mr. Trump said Tuesday evening, when he announced the pause in Project Freedom, that he was doing so after “great progress” in negotiations “toward a Complete and Final Agreement” to end the war with Iran.
Iran’s government has yet to react publicly to Mr. Trump’s announcement.
By
Tucker Reals
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44m ago
China is “deeply distressed” over Iran war, foreign minister says
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that China was “deeply distressed” over the war that has lasted more than two months and said a “comprehensive ceasefire” was needed.
Wang met Araghchi in Beijing, the first time the Iranian foreign minister traveled to China since the war with the U.S. and Israel started Feb. 28.
“We believe that a comprehensive ceasefire is urgently needed, that a resumption of hostilities is not acceptable, and that it is particularly important to remain committed to dialogue and negotiations,” Wang said.
After their meeting, Araghchi said Tehran would only accept “a fair and comprehensive agreement” to end the war, according to Iranian state media.
“We will do our best to protect our legitimate rights and interests in the negotiations,” he was quoted as saying, without addressing President Trump’s announcement on Tuesday that he was pausing Operation Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz “for a short period of time.”
Mr. Trump said he was pausing the U.S. military operation to guide ships through the strait a day after it began to see whether a comprehensive peace deal could be agreed with Tehran, citing what he said had been “great progress” in negotiations brokered by Pakistan.
The operation infuriated Tehran, drawing the first Iranian attacks on ships in the strait, and on the United Arab Emirates, since the U.S.-Iran ceasefire began in early April.
CBS/AP
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44m ago
Trump pauses Project Freedom in Strait of Hormuz, says “Great Progress” made toward peace deal with Iran
President Trump said Tuesday on social media that Project Freedom will be paused as the U.S. and Iran make “Great Progress” toward a final agreement, but said the U.S. blockade would remain in place.
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of 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 (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Project Freedom, the U.S. military’s effort to help move ships through the Strait of Hormuz, began Monday.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday there are more than 1,500 vessels with about 22,500 mariners trapped inside the Persian Gulf.
By
Kiki Intarasuwan
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44m ago
U.S., Gulf allies propose U.N. resolution threatening Iran with sanctions over Strait of Hormuz chokehold
The United States and its Gulf allies have proposed a United Nations resolution threatening Iran with sanctions or other measures if it doesn’t halt attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, stop imposing “illegal tolls,” and start disclosing the placement of all mines to allow freedom of navigation.
The draft Security Council resolution, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, also demands that Iran “immediately participate in and enable” U.N. efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor in the strait for the delivery of vital aid, fertilizer and other goods.
It is the latest diplomatic effort by the U.S. and its Gulf allies after a watered-down resolution aimed at opening the strait was vetoed by China and Russia hours before Washington and Tehran announced a temporary ceasefire in early April.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement on Tuesday accused Iran of continuing “to hold the world’s economy hostage” by trying to close the strait, threatening to attack ships, laying sea mines, and attempting to charge tolls “for the world’s most important waterway.”
Whether the resolution succeeds will be “a real test” for the U.N. “as something that functions, that can solve global problems,” Rubio added at the White House briefing.
By
The Associated Press
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44m ago
Rubio says Operation Epic Fury is over, U.S. has moved on to Project Freedom
During his press briefing with reporters, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Operation Epic Fury is over.
“The operation is over,” Rubio said. “Epic Fury is, the president notified Congress, we’re done with that stage of it. OK? We’re now onto this project of freedom.”
Project Freedom is a U.S. effort to help commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The operation, Epic Fury, is concluded,” Rubio also said. “We achieved the objectives of that operation.”
Rubio said the issue of Iran’s enriched uranium is being addressed in negotiations, although he didn’t go into where negotiations stand.
By
Kathryn Watson
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