US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that Operation Epic Fury – the US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on February 28 and triggered a regional conflict – had concluded as its objectives were achieved. Washington now prefers “the path of peace,” Rubio said.
On the same day, US President Donald Trump announced that “Project Freedom,” the US military operation to escort stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz launched the day before, had been paused. Trump cited requests from Pakistan and other nations, as well as “great progress” toward a final agreement with Iranian representatives.
Rubio stated at a White House briefing that the operation was over and the US was not seeking further escalation. “We would prefer the path of peace,” he said, referencing Pakistan’s efforts to broker direct talks between Iran and the US. The first round in Islamabad last month ended without resolution, but both sides have since submitted new proposals.
Burcu Ozcelik, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told Al Jazeera that Trump’s abrupt reversal on Project Freedom has created “unwelcome frenzy in the Gulf” and reflects frantic diplomatic backchanneling aimed at extracting deep concessions from Tehran on the nuclear issue.
Iran, however, wants guarantees that this will be the end of the war, not just a pause. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US blockade of Iranian ports remains in effect, but Project Freedom is paused “for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed.”
Project Freedom was intended to clear ships stranded by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil and LNG passes. Iran had threatened to attack vessels without permission from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), sparking fears of renewed conflict.
The announcement triggered a war of words: Iran’s Fars agency claimed to have hit a US warship with drones, but US Central Command (CENTCOM) denied this and claimed to have sunk six IRGC vessels. Iran denied that and accused the UAE of launching strikes on its Fujairah port, causing a refinery fire.
Shahram Akbarzadeh, a professor at Deakin University, told Al Jazeera that Trump may be losing patience with the war and needs a win. Pausing Project Freedom allows diplomacy to accelerate, potentially leading to a deal Trump can claim as a victory.
However, Akbarzadeh warned that previous opportunities were squandered due to Israeli insistence on better terms or Trump’s miscalculations. Neither side wants full-scale war, but both need to preserve their public image, complicating negotiations.
Ozcelik predicted the UN may soon formally condemn Iran for unilaterally blockading the Strait of Hormuz. But the real pressure is economic: shutting the strait is imposing punishing costs on Iran’s economic recovery, which may finally force Tehran’s hand.
Source: www.aljazeera.com