President Donald Trump on Tuesday night announced a short-term pause on a U.S. operation to protect ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, saying that the drawdown was a sign negotiators were close to a deal with Iran.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the decision was made “based on 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.”
He added that a blockade against Iran would remain in effect until an agreement had been finalized.
The announcement came hours after multiple top Trump administration officials insisted that the U.S.-Iran war was now over — and that the effort to reopen the strait was an entirely new operation.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth first made the argument Tuesday morning during a news briefing, saying that the U.S. had undertaken a “separate and distinct” conflict that allowed the administration to skirt the need for congressional authorization.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the same argument at a press briefing Tuesday afternoon, suggesting that the main U.S. objective was now to put the strait “back the way it was.”
“Our preference is for these straits to be opened the way they’re supposed to be open,” Rubio said. “No mines in the water. Nobody paying tolls. That’s the goal.”
Trump’s announcement follows 48 hours of renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. military said on Monday that it had destroyed a half-dozen Iranian speedboats and intercepted several missiles and drones near the strait. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, said that Iran had targeted an oil facility within its borders.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday morning that the hostilities fell “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations” and therefore did not represent an end to the ceasefire currently in place.
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