"Project Freedom", which began less than 48 hours ago, will be halted because progress has been made toward a deal with Iran, the US president says.

The US operation to guide stranded vessels through the Strait of Hormuz will be paused for a “short period of time”, Donald Trump announced on Tuesday evening.

Project Freedom was meant to help restore the flow of oil from the region and the global economy’s eventual return to normalcy by guiding stranded ships out of the Gulf through the largely closed waterway.

But if during the “pause”, global shipping firms and the insurance companies working with them are stymied by Iranian interference, it will be difficult for Trump to claim that objective has been achieved.