DUBAI, United Arab Emirates \u2014 U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening that he was pausing the American effort to guide stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz. This pause is intended to allow time for a deal to end the Iran war, though the American forces’ blockade of Iranian ports will remain active.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing on Wednesday morning, as reported by the official Xinhua news agency, without further details. This marks Araghchi’s first visit to China since the war began. China, with its strong economic and political ties to Tehran, holds a unique position of influence.<\/p>\n
Earlier in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had expressed hope that Beijing would urge Tehran to release its chokehold on the Strait, a vital global energy waterway. Iran’s effective closure of the Strait, which previously saw major oil, gas, fertilizer, and other petroleum product shipments, has caused fuel prices to skyrocket and rattled the global economy. Breaking Iran’s control would remove its primary leverage as Trump demands a significant rollback of Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.<\/p>\n
U.S. to pause latest efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n
Trump announced this decision via social media, stating that the latest effort, which began Monday, would be temporarily halted to see if an agreement with Tehran to end the Middle East war could be finalized. Trump attributed the move to “the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.”<\/p>\n
The White House did not respond to requests for comment or further details on the negotiation progress Trump mentioned. Negotiations appeared largely stalled in the conflict that began February 28, following U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran.<\/p>\n
U.S. officials say ceasefire is holding, despite attacks on UAE<\/p>\n
The United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf, reported a second day of attacks from Iranian drones and missiles on Tuesday. However, U.S. military leaders and Rubio maintained that the nearly month-old ceasefire was still holding and that, while the conflict is unresolved, the initial major U.S. military operation against Iran has concluded.<\/p>\n
Before Trump’s announcement, Rubio stated at a White House press briefing that for peace to be achieved, Iran must agree to Trump’s demands regarding its nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. “We would prefer the path of peace,” Rubio said. He also described the day-old U.S. initiative to reopen the Strait to maritime traffic as a defensive operation aimed at assisting thousands of civilian sailors stranded by the war. “They’re sitting ducks, they’re isolated, they’re starving, they’re vulnerable,” Rubio said, adding, “At least 10 sailors have already died as a result.”<\/p>\n
On Monday, the U.S. reported opening a lane and sinking six small Iranian boats that had threatened commercial ships. So far, only two merchant ships are known to have used the new U.S.-guarded route, with hundreds more bottlenecked in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n
Iran says the new U.S. effort violates ceasefire<\/p>\n
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the U.S. military’s top officer, told a news conference that Iran’s renewed attacks had not reached the threshold of what Caine termed “major combat operations.” He described Tuesday as a “quieter” day in the Strait. At the White House, Rubio reiterated that clashes with Iran related to American efforts to reopen the Strait were “defensive in nature.” “There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first, OK?” Rubio stated. “We’re not attacking them.”<\/p>\n
Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, indicated that Iran has yet to fully respond to the U.S. attempt to reopen the waterway. “We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet,” he posted on X. His statement did not mention negotiations with the U.S., which are currently being conducted through Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Disputing Washington’s claim of sinking six Iranian boats, an Iranian military commander stated that two small civilian cargo boats were hit Monday, killing five civilians, Iran’s state TV reported.<\/p>\n
Caine, the top U.S. general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said over 100 U.S. military aircraft are patrolling the skies over the Strait. The U.S. has maintained a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, depriving Tehran of vital oil revenue needed to support its struggling economy.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration has cited the April 8 ceasefire in asserting that the president is not required to provide a formal update to Congress on the war under the War Powers Resolution. This law typically mandates presidents to seek formal congressional approval for war activities 60 days after initiating military action.<\/p>\n
Shippers remain wary<\/p>\n
To date, only two civilian vessels, both U.S.-flagged merchant ships, are known to have transited the Strait via the lane the U.S. claims to have established. Shipping company Maersk confirmed that one of its operated vehicle carriers safely exited the Strait on Monday with U.S. military assistance.<\/p>\n
Former military officers familiar with the Strait have stated that opening the waterway, which is only 21 miles (34 kilometers) wide, would be dangerous and highly challenging, even with military escorts, which the U.S. is not currently providing. Hapag-Lloyd AG, a major container shipping company, stated that its risk assessment “remains unchanged” and that transits through the Strait “are for the moment not possible for our ships.”<\/p>\n
Iran has previously attacked ships attempting to transit without using its designated route in the northern part of the Strait along the Iranian coastline. This route requires vetting by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and, in some cases, payment. The U.S.-approved route passes through Oman’s territorial waters to the south.<\/p>\n
The UAE bore the brunt of Iran’s retaliation<\/p>\n
The UAE’s Defense Ministry reported responding to another Iranian drone and missile attack on Tuesday, with no immediate reports of damage or casualties. A day earlier, Emirati air defenses engaged 15 missiles and four drones from Iran, one of which caused a fire at a key oil facility, injuring three Indian nationals. The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE on Monday. On Tuesday, it reported that a cargo vessel in the Strait had been struck by an “unknown projectile,” without further details.<\/p>\n
Iran denied striking the UAE “in recent days,” according to a statement by Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for Iran’s joint military command, read on state TV Tuesday.<\/p>\n
#StraitOfHormuz #USIranTensions #MiddleEastConflict #TrumpAdministration #IranWar #NavalBlockade #OilShipping #GlobalEconomy #Ceasefire #DiplomacyEfforts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates \u2014 U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening that he was pausing the American effort to guide stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz. This pause is intended to allow time for a deal to end the Iran war, though the American forces’ blockade of Iranian ports will remain active. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iran-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fajr.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}