OAN Staff Addie Davis
9:34 AM – Wednesday, May 6, 2026
President Donald Trump announced that Operation Epic Fury will end if Iran agrees to a deal, echoing Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks that the mission has concluded.
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran,” the president posted to Truth Social on Wednesday.
This follows Rubio’s Tuesday press briefing, where he claimed the United States has moved onto a new stage in the conflict.
“The operation is over. Epic Fury, as the president notified Congress, we’re done with that stage of it. We’re now on to this Project Freedom,” the secretary of state said, relating the decimation of Iranian military capabilities.
“Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation,” Rubio later added, explaining that Trump preferred to reach a deal peacefully.
A fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has held since early April, while negotiators seek to establish a deal and permanently end the conflict. The administration has repeatedly emphasized that the U.S. military remains ready to restart significant combat operations should an agreement not be reached, however.
On Monday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) began Project Freedom, intending to facilitate safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave a joint news conference Tuesday morning to provide updates on the project, with Rubio also addressing it in his press briefing.
However, on Tuesday evening, hours after Rubio’s remarks, the president posted to Truth Social to announce that Project Freedom would be temporarily paused while the U.S. seeks to finalize an agreement with the Islamic Republic. Trump claimed that “great progress” had already been made.
“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,” Trump said.
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