Trump pauses US effort to guide vessels out of Hormuz
Donald Trump has paused US efforts to remove stranded ships from the Strait of Hormuz to finalize the Iran deal, but the US blockade of Iranian ports will continue.
The US president announced the decision in a post on social media, saying the US had briefly paused efforts to make room for efforts to reach an agreement to end the war with Iran.
Trump said he made the move based on “the request of Pakistan and other countries, the tremendous military success we have achieved during the operation against the country of Iran, and the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Full and Final Agreement with Iranian representatives.”
Tuesday’s announcement came after military leaders and Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that a ceasefire in the Middle East still stands and that the first major U.S. military operation against Iran is over, even though the conflict is unresolved.
However, the blockade will continue.
Rubio said at a press conference at the White House that in order to achieve peace, Iran must accept Trump’s demands regarding its nuclear program and also agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy.
He spoke after the United Arab Emirates said it was attacked by Iranian drones and missiles for a second day.
“We prefer the path of peace,” Rubio said.
He also expressed hope that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, during his expected visit to China on Wednesday, will reiterate the need for Beijing to lift pressure on Tehran over the strait.
“It is in China’s interest for Iran to stop closing the strait,” Rubio said.
Earlier in the day, the United States briefly resumed efforts to reopen the strait to maritime traffic, an operation that Rubio described as defensive and aimed at helping thousands of civilian sailors stranded in the war.
“They’re ducks, they’re isolated, they’re starving, they’re defenseless,” Rubio said.
“At least 10 sailors have already died as a result.”
On Monday, the United States said it had opened a lane and sank six small Iranian boats that were threatening commercial shipping. So far, only two merchant ships are known to have passed through the new US-protected route; Hundreds more were trapped in the Persian Gulf.
Before the war, Iran effectively closed the strait through which major oil and gas resources as well as fertilizers and other petroleum products passed, causing fuel prices to soar and shaking the global economy.
Breaking Iran’s dominance would eliminate Iran’s main source of influence, as Trump has called for a major rollback of its controversial nuclear program.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the US military’s top official, General Dan Caine, said at a press conference that Iran’s renewed attacks did not reach the threshold of what Caine called “major combat operations”.
“The ceasefire is not over yet,” Hegseth said.
Rubio said clashes with Iran in connection with American efforts to reopen the plain are “defensive in nature.”
“No shooting unless we get hit first, okay?” Rubio said. “We’re not attacking them.”
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament and chief negotiator, signaled that Iran has not yet fully responded to the US initiative to reopen the waterway.
“We know full well that continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America, even before it has even begun,” he said in a post on X.
His statement did not mention the negotiations currently being held with the United States in the form of messaging through Pakistan.
Disputing Washington’s claim that it sank six Iranian boats, an Iranian military commander said two small civilian cargo boats were hit on Monday, killing five civilians, Iranian state television reported.
Senior US general Caine, who serves as Chief of General Staff, said that more than 100 US military aircraft were patrolling over the strait.
The United States has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, depriving Tehran of the oil revenue it needs to support its struggling economy.
The Trump administration cited the April 8 ceasefire when arguing that the president was not required to give Congress a formal update on the war under the War Powers Resolution.
This law typically requires presidents to obtain formal approval from Congress for war activities 60 days after commencing military action.
via Reuters
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