<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump said he would pause an effort to help stranded ships exit the Strait of Hormuz to see if the US can reach an agreement with Iran to end the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cProject Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalised and signed,\u201d Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday. The effort to break Iran\u2019s chokehold on the waterway had only begun on Monday.<\/p>\n
The president cited \u201cGreat Progress\u201d toward \u201ca Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.\u201d He said the decision had been made at the request of Pakistan \u2014 which is helping mediate talks between Washington and Tehran \u2014 as well as other countries. He added, however, that a US blockade of ships transiting to and from Iranian ports would \u201cremain in full force and effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was not clear what progress Trump referred to, and he didn\u2019t provide details on what, if any, negotiations were in the works. His comments marked an abrupt shift from recent days, when he had voiced frustration over the pace of talks and indicated he wasn\u2019t satisfied with Tehran\u2019s proposals.<\/p>\n
Brent crude oil dropped around 1% toward $108 a barrel, after sliding 4% on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Project Freedom was meant to sit at the center of the next phase of the US approach to Iran. The US military said it helped two vessels exit Hormuz on Monday, repelling multiple attacks by Iranian drones, missiles and irregular navy fast-attack boats.<\/p>\n
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According to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the Pentagon was deploying guided-missile destroyers with air defense capabilities, more than 100 aircraft, 15,000 personnel in the region, and a mix of drones including underwater platforms.<\/p>\n
But Trump shelved the operation just hours after top US officials outlined the role the US military would play.<\/p>\n
The administration appears to be seeking ways to ease the standoff that has escalated fuel prices, exacerbating economic strains that Republicans fear could lead to their party losing control of both chambers of Congress in the November midterm elections. Before Trump\u2019s announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at the White House that offensive operations against Iran were over.<\/p>\n
While the US now seems intent on trying to de-escalate the conflict, which has killed thousands of people in Iran and Lebanon and roiled global energy markets, the path to a deal that reopens the strait, which carries a fifth of the world\u2019s oil exports, remains distant.<\/p>\n
As Rubio spoke on Tuesday, a British monitoring organization reported that a cargo ship in the strait had been struck by an unknown projectile. The US said the shutdown around Hormuz has left more than 1 550 commercial vessels, carrying some 22 000 sailors, trapped in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n
Further clouding the picture, prior to Trump\u2019s announcement, Iran\u2019s president dismissed American demands to resume talks as \u201cimpossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe problem is that while the US pursues a policy of maximum pressure against our country, it also expects the Islamic Republic of Iran to come to the negotiating table and ultimately submit to its unilateral demands \u2014 an equation that is impossible,\u201d President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a call with Iraq\u2019s prime minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.<\/p>\n
Trump and top administration officials have described challenges with talks, in part because of divisions within Iran itself.<\/p>\n
Sometimes after an offer is made, Rubio said, \u201cit takes five or six days to get a response,\u201d since it has to wind its way through a system and be put in front of the supreme leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir system has always been multilayered in this way. It\u2019s obviously become more complex because of the damage they suffered during the war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
More related to the war<\/p>\n
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing on Wednesday, Xinhua News Agency reported.
\nAt the UN, the US and its allies backed a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would open the door to sanctions or even military action if Iran doesn\u2019t ease its chokehold over the strait. The proposal would require support from China and Russia to pass.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
#Trump #pauses #plan #guide #ships #Strait #Hormuz #seeking #Iran #deal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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