Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, during a news conference in the White House in Washington on May 5. Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg Photo by Stefani Reynolds /BloombergArticle content(Bloomberg) — The US said offensive operations against Iran are over as it shifts to protecting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but the targeting of another cargo vessel after a day of strikes signaled that the conflict is dragging on.
Sign In or Create an AccountEmail AddressContinueor View more offersArticle content“Operation Epic Fury is concluded,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at the White House Tuesday, 66 days after the US and Israel began bombing Iran. “We achieved the objectives of that operation.”
Article contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, or tap here to see other videos from our team.Article contentArticle contentA few hours later, President Donald Trump announced that he would pause a US-led effort to help stranded ships exit the Strait of Hormuz to see if an agreement with Iran to end the war could be finalized.
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Article content“Project 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 finalized and signed,” he said in a social media post on Tuesday.
Article contentTrump added that he acting at the request of Pakistan and other countries, but that the US blockade of ships transiting to and from Iranian ports would “remain in full force and effect.”
Article contentWhile the US now seems intent on trying to deescalate the conflict, which has killed thousands in Iran and roiled global energy markets, the pathway to a deal that reopens the strait, carries a fifth of the world’s oil exports, remains distant.
Article contentAs Rubio spoke, a British monitoring organization reported that a cargo ship in the strait had 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.
Article contentArticle contentIran’s president dismissed American demands to resume talks as “impossible.”
Article content“The 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 — an equation that is impossible,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a call with Iraq’s prime minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.
Article contentOil declined on Tuesday, with Brent trading around 3.6% lower at under $111 a barrel. It jumped almost 6% on Monday.
Article contentRubio’s characterization of Operation Epic Fury, repeated by other top officials over the last 24 hours, signals the pressure Trump is under to end an increasingly unpopular conflict. At the briefing, Rubio cast Iran as the aggressor and the US as leading a global effort to bring a rogue nation to heel.
Article contentPortraying the war as concluded also allows the administration to skirt questions about the legality of the conflict. The War Powers Act requires him to wind down a conflict in 60 days unless authorized by Congress. Trump passed that deadline about a week ago.
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