President Donald Trump pledged Wednesday morning to open the Strait of Hormuz to all nations, including Iran, if the country agrees to the current proposed peace deal with the United States.
The president said that if Iran refuses the deal, the U.S. will start bombing the regime again.
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran,” Trump said in a post to Truth Social.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” he added.
His statement came after Washington and Tehran appeared to come to a major breakthrough in peace talks earlier this week, with Trump saying Tuesday that he would pause “Project Freedom” to determine “whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed.”
U.S. and Iranian negotiators are hashing out a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war that marks the closest the parties have been to an agreement since the war began, according to an Axios report Wednesday morning. The agreement would reportedly involve Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment, while both sides would lift restrictions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Project Freedom refers to an initiative in which the U.S. began escorting oil tankers and other vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, protecting them from Iranian fire. Iran initially responded to Trump’s initiative by promising that “any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive U.S. Army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz.”
On Wednesday, Iran’s Navy said that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is possible under “new procedures” after Trump paused Project Freedom.
The war began on Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran, due largely to concerns about the regime’s nuclear program. The decision was made after the U.S. was told by Iranian leadership that it had enough enriched uranium to make 11 nuclear bombs within 10 days, according to Trump’s team.
Trump announced a two-week ceasefire on April 7, and extended the truce again on April 21, as peace talks continued.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION STRETCHES DEFINITION OF A CEASEFIRE
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the war, known as Operation Epic Fury, is over, and that the U.S. is engaged in strictly defensive operations.
“The operation is over,” he told reporters. “Epic Fury is — the president notified Congress we’re done with that stage of it. OK? We’re now on to this project of freedom.”
“This is not an offensive operation,” he added. “This is a defensive operation. And what that means is very simple: There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first. OK, we’re not attacking them.”