Trump says US to pause operation to guide vessels through Strait of Hormuz — BBC News

[0:00] Donald Trump has announced the operation to help commercial ships sail through the Strait of Hormuz [0:06] will be paused less than 48 hours after it began. He said it's because there's been progress toward [0:12] a deal with Iran and wrote on social media, we have mutually agreed that while the blockade [0:18] will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom will be paused for a short period of time. [0:25] See whether or not the agreement can be finalized and signed. The president's post comes just hours [0:33] after his Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the initial US-Israeli offensive in Iran was over, [0:39] with all its objectives achieved. That's despite Iran continuing to threaten navigation in the Strait [0:45] of Hormuz and the US still hoping to negotiate an end to the Iranian nuclear program. Mr Rubio spent [0:54] about 50 minutes answering questions from the media. Let's get more on what he had to say from [1:00] our North America correspondent David Willis. Hello David. So he got quite a grilling, talk us through it. [1:06] Yes he did Sally, he answered questions for quite some time in the White House press briefing room [1:15] and he announced most crucially the end of Operation Epic Fury. That's the basic combat [1:22] mission name that was given to the US and Israel assault, if you like, on Iran. Mr Rubio said that [1:32] the focus now would be on Project Freedom and that was a defensive operation that the United States [1:39] was launching to basically guide vessels, oil tankers in particular, through the Strait of Hormuz, [1:47] which of course Iran had also claimed it was in control of. Well only a few minutes, a couple of hours [1:55] I should say, after Mr Rubio had concluded his remarks and stepped down from the lectern, President Trump [2:03] went on social media, Truth Social, to announce that basically Project Freedom was a thing of the past, [2:11] a day and a half after it had come into operation. The President saying, as you mentioned, that he was [2:19] pausing the operation in order to make time for talks between, or to capitalise on talks between the US [2:28] and Iran, which he seemed to think were bearing fruit. What are we to make of all this? I mean, [2:34] frankly, your guess is as good as mine. It does seem that Project Freedom, that move by the US to [2:42] guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz, had antagonised Iran. They had promised to attack [2:51] ships that were going through, escorted by the US. But is the US on the verge of some sort of agreement [3:00] with Iran over its nuclear stockpile, something that President Trump suggested might be the case in [3:08] that Truth Social posting this evening? We really don't know. And the next few days may perhaps shine [3:16] some light on it, or maybe not. Yeah, interesting, David, in terms of what might happen next, because [3:23] the price of oil has come down in the hope, I'm assuming, that there could be some negotiation [3:28] in the near future between both sides. And of course, we've got Iran's foreign minister in [3:34] China, and China may exert some pressure on Iran to reopen that strait, because for China, it's very [3:40] important. Well, that's true. And of course, if you're to believe Donald Trump, then it is Pakistan [3:47] that has been exerting pressure as well, Sally, seeking to get the two sides back to the negotiating [3:55] table. But of course, there's only been one face to face negotiation between the two sides. [4:01] This conflict began towards the end of February, and that resulted in the two sides walking away [4:08] still a long way apart. So a lot of questions among them, of course, what happens to the 1600 or so [4:17] vessels still stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, some of which have been there [4:22] for up to two months with sailors, according to Marco Rubio, in some cases, dying of starvation. [4:30] We will just have to wait and see. OK, David, thank you very much indeed. David Willis there [4:35] with the latest from the White House. Well, let's now focus on Iran's foreign minister's trip to China. [4:42] He is in Beijing and has begun a meeting with his Chinese counterpart. Asked about that visit, [4:49] Secretary of State Marco Rubio had this to say. I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be [4:53] told, and that is that what you are doing in the Straits is causing you to be globally isolated. [4:58] You're the bad guy in this. You guys should not be blowing up ships. You should not be putting mines. [5:02] You should not be holding hostage the global, trying to hold hostage the global economy. [5:07] It is in China's interest that Iran stop closing the Straits. It's harming China as well. [5:12] Well, let's go live to Beijing now. Our China correspondent there is Stephen McDonnell. [5:17] Stephen, so is Iran's foreign minister in meetings with Wang Yi right now? [5:25] Yes, that's right. And what we're waiting for is the official readout, which will come at some point. [5:32] This is the sort of notes that both governments give us. It's not a verbatim record of what's said, [5:40] but will give us the highlights of points discussed, certainly in terms of what the governments want [5:45] to tell us, though. The interesting thing about this, though, is why are they meeting face to face? [5:51] Why has Iran's foreign minister flown all the way to Beijing for this meeting when these two foreign [5:58] ministers have had plenty of phone conversations since the war started? And I think most analysts would [6:04] say it's because it's in the lead up to Donald Trump visiting here later next week. China would [6:12] love to be able to say to the US, look, we're doing our best to end the gridlock in the Strait of Hormuz. [6:20] We've been having these discussions with the Iranian government on that front. Now, we heard US [6:27] Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying that basically Wang Yi should be reading the riot act to the Iranian [6:34] government saying that you're the bad guys in all this. You should stop blocking that strait because [6:41] and it's because of your actions that you're essentially an international pariah. Well, [6:46] the Chinese government is not going to say that Iran is the bad guy because they think that the US and [6:51] Israel are also the bad guys. After all, they started the war. The official line from the Chinese [6:58] government is that everyone needs to sit down and start talking. And naturally, the Chinese government [7:03] wants that strait to open, as well as other countries, because even though this is a very [7:09] strong economy, that war is also hurting China. Yeah, I mean, China's role in all of this is very [7:15] interesting in that China is seen as a friend to Iran, an ally of Iran. And yet at the same time, [7:22] it's got huge economic and investment ties in the Gulf. And a lot of its energy flows through the Strait of [7:29] Hormuz, which is, to all intents and purposes, shut at the moment. So China is trying to mediate here [7:35] in a very diplomatic way and gain points on the international stage for doing so. [7:43] Yeah, you're absolutely right. And what's more, we're hearing that the Chinese government has been [7:48] telling these Chinese companies, which are buying Iranian oil, to keep doing it, even though they're [7:54] facing sanctions from the US. Now, that could also be so that when Donald Trump and Xi Jinping sit [8:02] down at the end of next week and have these talks, there's leverage on that front. So both sides have [8:08] got something to give, if you like. For the moment, though, China is still buying this oil from Iran. [8:15] And Beijing would argue, well, why shouldn't we? We didn't start the war. We're not a party to the war. [8:20] Why should we stop buying Iranian oil just because the US and Israel are involved in a conflict with that [8:27] state? OK, Stephen, for now, thank you very much indeed. Well, let's now pick the brains of the director [8:33] of the Iranian studies at Stanford University, Abbas Milani. Abbas, I know you were listening in to all of [8:39] that. So what do you think Wang Yi's messages for Abbas Ograci today? Well, first of all, I think one message [8:48] is that Iran must open, straight up foremost. China has been very clear. They have repeated it several [8:54] times that this is the international waterway and it should be opened. I think you might be reading [9:00] the right act. I'm not sure. But China is very clear on that. But China also has a lot of interest [9:07] in the United Arab Emirates that has been attacked by Iran repeatedly. There are 150,000, I think, [9:15] about Chinese citizens who live in United Arab Emirates. I would be very surprised if the Chinese [9:22] government doesn't tell Iran that they should cool their heels and stop attacking United Arab Emirates, [9:29] which is a non-combatant in all of this. But don't you think China as well is seeing this [9:35] as a great opportunity, this war initiated by Israel and the US to undermine the US on the [9:43] international stage and to show China as the place of stability and collaboration? [9:49] Well, absolutely. I think China is cherishing the position that it has. It is doing exactly as you [9:56] suggest. I think one of the things that the Iranians literally have been writing about [10:01] as their anxiety, the Iranian regime particularly, is that China might make a deal with the United [10:07] States when Mr. Trump goes there. They want to make sure that they're on the same page with the [10:14] Chinese, that they won't be part of some kind of a deal. But China has extensive contacts with Saudi [10:22] Arabia, with the United Arab Emirates, with Qatar, with all of the countries on the other side of the [10:26] Persian Gulf. So China is sitting in a very comfortable position. But also it has been criticized, [10:32] China. There has been accusations that it's been providing military support to Iran in the same way [10:39] that Russia has been seen to be doing so. But China is refuting that, isn't it? [10:45] Yeah, China has refuted that. I would be surprised if they haven't given some aid, some, for example, [10:54] intelligence, as Russia apparently has done. But that's the least you can expect of China. [11:00] China has been considered Iran's chief ally in the international community next to Russia. [11:09] Both of those countries, I think, have decided to sit on essentially the sideline. They have provided [11:15] enough, just enough, to Iran to say that they're still an ally. But they have made their sentiments very [11:21] clear that they don't think Iran is doing the right things. They might be critical of Israel and the [11:27] United States for attacking. But I think they believe, for example, the attacks on China's allies [11:34] on the other side of the Persian Gulf, closing the Strait of Hormuz, all of these things, I don't think [11:40] sits well with the Chinese. And just briefly, Abbas, do you think we could be on the verge of a deal [11:45] between the US and Iran? I would be surprised if it wasn't. I think both sides need a deal, [11:52] both sides want a deal, and both sides will declare a victory after a deal where I think both of them [11:59] will have probably made some concessions. Okay. Abbas Milani, thank you again for your time.