{"id":2600562,"date":"2026-05-08T20:40:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T00:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-threatens-project-freedom-plus-in-strait-of-hormuz-if-iran-refuses-deal\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T20:41:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T00:41:00","slug":"trump-threatens-project-freedom-plus-in-strait-of-hormuz-if-iran-refuses-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-threatens-project-freedom-plus-in-strait-of-hormuz-if-iran-refuses-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump threatens &#8216;Project Freedom Plus&#8217; in Strait of Hormuz if Iran refuses deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-threatens-project-freedom-plus-in-strait-of-hormuz-if-iran-refuses-deal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2600562&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>On Friday, President Donald Trump warned that he would escalate the U.S. Navy\u2019s \u201cProject Freedom\u201d escort mission for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz unless Iran agrees to a ceasefire deal. The threat came after fresh exchanges of fire in the strait, were Iran attacked three U.S.Navy ships and the U.S.responded while insisting a ceasefire remains in place.<\/p>\n<p>Trump said the U.S. could take \u201ca different route\u201d to get ships out of the strategic waterway if no agreement is reached, possibly reviving the effort as \u201cProject Freedom Plus,\u201d which implies additional actions beyond escorting vessels. he added that the idea may include other measures such as possible strikes on Iran\u2019s energy infrastructure. <\/p>\n<p>The article also notes that project Freedom had been paused at Pakistan\u2019s request to allow time for negotiations, though the broader blockade-related posture in the region remained. It describes U.S. forces targeting Iranian military sites linked to the attacks, and later hitting two Iranian-flagged oil tankers to disrupt Iran\u2019s blockade.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> on Friday threatened that he would up the ante on Project Freedom, the administration\u2019s plan for the U.S. Navy to escort vessels through the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/strait-of-hormuz\/\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, if Iran does not agree to a ceasefire deal.<\/p>\n<p>The comments come one day after Iran and the United States exchanged fire in the strait and the president suggested the world would see \u201cone big glow\u201d coming from Iran if it did not agree to a deal as the war passes its three-month mark. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4559924\/state-department-review-mexico-consulates-us\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>State Department initiates review of all 53 Mexican consulates in US<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4559481\/tucker-carlson-blasts-iran-war-megyn-kelly-show\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Tucker Carlson blasts Iran war on Megyn Kelly Show<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4558254\/gop-us-involvement-china-organ-harvesting-scheme\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>GOP trying to stop US involvement in China\u2019s organ harvesting scheme<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Speaking to reporters before boarding Marine One, Trump proposed alternate plans to get vessels out of the strategic waterway that has been effectively shut down by Iran since the start of the war. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll go a different route if everything doesn\u2019t get signed up, buttoned up,\u201d he said. \u201cWe may go back to Project Freedom if things don\u2019t happen, but it\u2019ll be Project Freedom Plus, meaning Project Freedom plus other things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProject Freedom Plus\u201d suggests that Trump may give the green light on strikes to Iran\u2019s energy infrastructure, a threat he touted more than once as the war has dragged out. <\/p>\n<p>Trump had paused Project Freedom at the request of Pakistan, which is mediating peace negotiations, in order to allow Iran to agree to a deal. The U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has remained in effect. He has previously ruled out the use of a nuclear weapon. <\/p>\n<p>U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire on Thursday after Iran fired on three U.S. Navy vessels in the strait in what U.S. Central Command called an unprovoked attack. U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/israel-strikes-terrorists-in-lebanon-after-rocket-attack\/\" title=\"Israel Strikes Terrorists in Lebanon After Rocket Attack\">forces returned fire<\/a>, but Trump and White House officials have been adamant that a ceasefire remains in place. <\/p>\n<p>Iranian forces launched missiles, drones, and small boats at the <em>USS Truxtun<\/em>, <em>USS Rafael Peralta<\/em>, and <em>USS Mason<\/em>, which were transiting from the strait to the Gulf of Oman at the time, according to CENTCOM.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4560178\/trump-one-big-glow-iran-war-peace-deal\/\"><strong>TRUMP SAYS WORLD WILL SEE \u2018ONE BIG GLOW\u2019 FROM IRAN IF DEAL NOT REACHED<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>American forces responded by <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >targeting military facilities<\/a>, including missile and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/middle-east-braces-for-pending-airstrikes-from-u-s-u-k-in-response-to-houthi-attacks\/\" title=\"Middle East prepares for imminent airstrikes by U.S. and U.K. in retaliation to Houthi assaults\">drone launch sites<\/a>, command and control locations, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance nodes, which CENTCOM said were responsible for the initial attacks.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, U.S. forces hit two Iranian-flagged oil tankers in an effort to break Iran\u2019s blockade of the strait. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump threatened to escalate Project Freedom to pressure Iran for a ceasefire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4130,"featured_media":2600563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26125683834721.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3823,62268,57321,3634,32515],"class_list":["post-2600562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-iran","tag-middle-east-security","tag-strait-of-hormuz","tag-trump","tag-us-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26125683834721.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2600562"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2600566,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600562\/revisions\/2600566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2600563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2600562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2600562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2600562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}