A US blockade on Iranian ports will remain in force, said President Donald Trump.
WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (May 5) he was halting the US military operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz after just one day, in a bid to reach a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war.
Trump's operation, dubbed "Project Freedom", to help vessels leave the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint to the Gulf where Iran has seized control in response to being attacked, began on Monday.
But the US leader said on Truth Social that he was now pausing it after a request by mediator Pakistan and other countries, saying that "great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement" with Tehran.
"We have mutually agreed that, while the blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom ... will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalised and signed," Trump said.
Washington is maintaining a blockade of Iran's ports in a bid to pressure Iran to make a deal to end the war that the US and Israel launched on Feb 28.
Tensions had been soaring over the Hormuz operation, with the US saying it had sunk seven Iranian boats, and several civilian vessels coming under attack, allegedly from Iran.
The clashes in the Strait of Hormuz were not part of the original war, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier on Tuesday.
"This is not an offensive operation; this is a defensive operation," Rubio said. "And what that means is very simple - there's no shooting unless we're shot at first."
He added that the US has completed its offensive operations against Iran, which it named "Operation Epic Fury".
John Blaxland, professor of international security and intelligence studies at the Australian National University, said tensions remain highly uncertain.
"The situation as it stands at the moment is one that's considerably worse than was the case prior to the beginning of hostilities back on Feb 28," he told CNA's Asia First.
At the same time, domestic and global pressures are mounting on the US to ease the situation, he added.
"America is starting to hurt. The rest of the world has been hurting for some time," Blaxland noted.
"So the United States is under pressure to make concessions here too – not just Iran – and that means that it's really very difficult to say how this is going to unfold next."
Iran still holds meaningful leverage in the region, said Blaxland. Even with reduced capabilities, it can disrupt maritime activity in the Strait of Hormuz.
"The implications of the hundreds of vessels that are stuck on either side of the strait that are needing to transit to get to their destination is significant," he added.
"The question is who feels the most pain, politically and economically, and who then feels, as a result of that imposition of pain, the requirement to back off further first."
UN RESOLUTION
Rubio also called a US-proposed UN resolution demanding Iran stop attacks and laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz a test of the utility of the United Nations and urged China and Russia not to repeat vetoes.
UN Security Council members began closed talks on Tuesday on a text the US drafted with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar, which, if it were to pass, could lead to sanctions against Iran, and potentially authorise force, if Tehran fails to halt attacks and threats to commercial shipping.
A previous Bahraini resolution that was backed by the United States and appeared to open a path to legitimise US military action against Iran failed last month after Russia and China exercised their vetoes in the 15-member Security Council.
The new draft avoids explicit language authorising force while still operating under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows the Security Council to impose measures ranging from sanctions to military action.
"Everyone wouldn't want to see this vetoed again, and we've made some slight adjustments to the language," Rubio told reporters at a White House news briefing, while adding: "I don't know if it will avoid a veto or not."
"I think it's a real test to the UN ... as something that functions," he added.
A draft of the resolution seen by Reuters condemns Iran's alleged violations of the current ceasefire and its "continuing actions and threats aimed at closing, obstructing, tolling" freedom of navigation through the strait.
It demands that Iran immediately cease attacks, disclose the locations of any mines and not impede clearance operations.
"All we're asking them to do is to condemn it, to call on Iran to stop blowing (up) ships, to remove these mines and to allow humanitarian relief to come through," Rubio said.
"To both the Chinese and the Russians, I ... have argued, that it is in their interest for that resolution to pass and for pressure to be brought on Iran, because it is in their interest not to see international waterways, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, be closed down and cause economic chaos to dozens and dozens of countries around the world."
The draft also calls on Tehran to cooperate with un efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor through the strait, citing the disruption of aid deliveries, fertiliser shipments and other essential goods.
Asked if the resolution could avoid another Chinese veto, China's UN mission said: "The draft was circulated yesterday in the afternoon. We are still doing our assessment."
Russia's UN mission did not immediately respond.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said it was not his place to comment on drafts, but added at a regular briefing: "Obviously we want to see this international waterway open, open safely, and a restoration of the freedom of navigation that is so critical to the world."
Washington has also circulated a proposal, seen by Reuters, to partners for a new multinational maritime coalition, the Maritime Freedom Construct (MFC), aimed at establishing a post‑conflict security architecture for the Middle East and reopening the strait once conditions stabilise.
The MFC would work with a separate Franco‑British maritime mission involving around 30 countries that seeks to lay the groundwork for safe transit through the strait once the situation stabilises or the conflict is resolved, with Iranian coordination.