The United States military will pause its operation to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, dubbed ‘Project Freedom,’ barely a day after it began doing so.
US President Donald Trump announced the pause, citing a desire to reach a peace deal with Iran.
Despite clashes in the strait in recent days, Trump said “great progress has been made” towards a deal and that the ship-guiding operation “will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the agreement can be finalised and signed”.
The announcement came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States had completed its offensive operations against Iran, although he vowed to unleash a “devastating” response to any new attacks by the Iranians on shipping in the narrow waterway.
Despite pausing the ship escorts, Trump said a US blockade of Iranian ports “will remain in full force”.
The dispute over shipping through Hormuz, as well as Iran’s nuclear programme, is at the heart of deadlocked talks between Washington and Tehran following two months of war, which began with US-Israeli attacks in late February.
Iran says it will only accept “a fair and comprehensive agreement” in its negotiations with the US on ending the war in the Middle East, its foreign minister announced on Wednesday.
“We will do our best to protect our legitimate rights and interests in the negotiations,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in Beijing after a meeting with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, Iranian media reported. “We only accept a fair and comprehensive agreement.”
He did not directly address Trump’s offer of a pause in the US operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which was earlier presented as an incentive to help reach an agreement between the two sides.
