US President Donald Trump has warned Iran it will face "a much higher level and intensity" of strikes if it fails to agree to a peace deal that the two sides are reportedly closing in on.

US media outlets, led by Axios, reported on May 6 that Tehran and Washington were close to an agreement on a one-page memorandum to end the war in the Gulf.

Axios said in its report that the agreement would include Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment, the United States agreeing to lift sanctions and release billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds, and both sides lifting restrictions around ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.

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Trump appeared to confirm a deal was nearing in aposton social media, though he gave no details.

"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," he wrote.

"If they dont agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before."

Operation Project Freedom

Trump's comments came hours after he announced that the operation called Project Freedom to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz will be paused for a short period of time" after making "Great Progress....toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran."

The United States launched Project Freedom to restore commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz halted by Iran, leaving thousands of ships stranded on both sides of the strait for weeks and impacting the global economy.

Iran blocked transit through the crucial waterway threatening to target any vessels that attempted to pass through the strait without its consent, in response to the US and Israeli military campaign against it, which was launched on February 28.