Donald Trump has announced that he is pausing ‘Project Freedom’, the US effort to guide stranded vessels out of the strait of Hormuz, so that he can finalise a deal with Iran, but added that his blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place.

Trump announced the decision in a social media post, saying he was pausing the effort for a short period to give space for US efforts to finalise a settlement with Iran to end the war.

Trump said he was making the move 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”.

The announcement came after military leaders and US secretary of state Marco Rubio insisted a ceasefire in the Middle East was still holding and that – while the conflict is not resolved – the initial major US military operation against Iran has concluded.

“The operation is over. Epic Fury – as the president notified Congress – we’re done with that stage of it,” Rubio said.

Rubio told the White House press briefing Tuesday that for peace to be achieved, Iran must agree to Trump’s demands on its nuclear program and also agree to reopen the strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy.

He spoke as the United Arab Emirates said it came under attack from Iranian drones and missiles for a second day.

“We would prefer the path of peace,” Rubio said. He also expressed hope that during the expected visit to China by Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday, Beijing would reiterate to Tehran the need to release its chokehold on the strait.

“It is in China’s interest that Iran stop closing the strait,” Rubio said.

Earlier in the day, the Trump administration had seemed intent on continuing its effort to reopen the strait to maritime traffic – an operation Rubio described as defensive and aimed at helping thousands of civilian sailors stranded there by the war.

“They’re sitting ducks, they’re isolated, they’re starving, they’re vulnerable,” Rubio said.

On Monday, the US said it had opened a lane and sunk six small Iranian boats that had threatened commercial ships. So far, only two merchant ships are known to have passed through the US-guarded route, with hundreds more bottled up in the Persian Gulf.

Iran’s effective closure of the strait, through which major oil and gas supplies passed before the war, along with fertiliser and other petroleum products, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and rattled the global economy. Breaking Iran’s grip would deny its main source of leverage as Trump demands a major rollback of its disputed nuclear program.

Earlier on Tuesday, US defense secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen Dan Caine, the US military’s top officer, told a news conference that Iran’s renewed attacks had not reached the threshold of what Caine called “major combat operations”. He said Tuesday marked a “quieter” day in the strait.

“The ceasefire is not over,” Hegseth said.

At the White House, Rubio said clashes with Iran related to American efforts to reopen the straight were “defensive in nature”.

“There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first, OK?” Rubio said. “We’re not attacking them.”

Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, signalled that Iran has yet to fully respond to the US 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 said in a post on X. His statement did not mention negotiations with the US that are now in the form of passing messages via Pakistan.

Disputing Washington’s claim of sinking six Iranian boats, an Iranian military commander said two small civilian cargo boats were hit Monday, killing five civilians, Iran’s state TV reported.

Caine, the top US general who serves as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more than 100 US military aircraft are patrolling the skies over the strait. The US has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports since 13 April, depriving Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.

The Trump administration has cited the 8 April ceasefire in asserting that the president does not have to give a formal update to Congress on the war under the War Powers Resolution. That law typically requires presidents to seek formal approval from Congress for war activities 60 days after beginning military action.

Hapag-Lloyd AG, one of the world’s largest container shipping companies, said in a statement that its risk assessment “remains unchanged” and that transits through the strait “are for the moment not possible for our ships”.

“For shipping companies and for insurance companies, they still have to wait and see how this plays out,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

With Associated Press