BBC World reports: He added that the US blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place.Trump's announcement may surprise some. It undercuts a day's worth of messaging from Rubio, defence secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Dan Caine - all of whom vowed that the operation would ensure freedom of navigation and commerce in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf."We would prefer the path of peace.
What the president [Donald Trump] would prefer is a deal," Rubio told reporters on Tuesday.What happens next is unclear. The administration had stressed that Project Freedom was a "separate and distinct" campaign from the blockade, which is meant to pressure Iran economically.Project Freedom was meant to help restore the flow of oil from the region and the global economy's eventual return to normalcy by guiding stranded ships out of the Gulf through the largely closed waterway. But if during the "pause", global shipping firms and the insurance companies working with them are stymied by Iranian interference, it will be difficult for Trump to claim that objective has been achieved.On the other hand, the administration may hope that freezing Project Freedom - which the Iranians strongly objected to - helps bring them to the negotiating table again.Rubio's comments earlier in the day came after a spate of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz raised fears the ceasefire between the US and Iran was in jeopardy.
Background
Tehran did not commented on Rubio's statement, but Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf earlier said: "We know well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America, while we are just getting started."Ghalibaf, Iran's top negotiator in last month's talks with the US, said, "Shipping security and energy transit have been jeopardised by the US and its allies with the ceasefire violations and blockade. However, their evil acts will fail".Late on Tuesday the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a verified source had told it that a cargo vessel has been struck "by an unknown projectile" in the Strait of Hormuz.
Key facts
- He added that the US blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place.Trump's announcement may surprise some.
- It undercuts a day's worth of messaging from Rubio, defence secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs chairman Gen.
- Dan Caine - all of whom vowed that the operation would ensure freedom of navigation and commerce in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf."We would prefer the path of peace.
What this means
Further details were not immediately available.Earlier in the day the UAE said its air defences were engaging missiles and drones from Iran for a second day in a row. On Monday it accused Iran of firing missiles and drones including a strike on an oil port in the emirate of Fujairah which is located outside the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a "dangerous escalation".Iran on Tuesday denied launching any attacks on the UAE, with a military spokesman saying that, "If such an action had been taken, we would have announced it firmly and clearly".Operation Epic Fury began on 28 February when the US and Israel launched a wave of air strikes on Iran.
Tehran responded by blocking the crucial waterway through which 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes.Bowen: Strait of Hormuz standoff raises risk of sliding back into all-out warIn early April, the US and Iran announced a ceasefire under which Iran ended its drone and missile strikes on Gulf countries including the UAE, but few vessels have been able to transit the strait since then. The US also imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports.On Monday, the US said it had attacked seven Iranian fast boats in the strait while Iran said it had fired warning shots at a US vessel.
Originally reported by BBC World. This story has been edited and re-presented by BRIC Team.
