Safe \u2060transit \u2060through the Strait of Hormuz will be \u2060ensured as the United States threats end and with new procedures in place, the navy of Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said, after the US said it was pausing \u2060operations to help \u2060stranded ships pass through the waterway.<\/p>\n
The IRGC statement posted on X on Wednesday did \u2060not specify what \u2060the new procedures entailed. It thanked owners and captains of ships for respecting \u200cIranian regulations when moving through the strait.<\/p>\n
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The announcement comes a day after US President Donald Trump halted the \u201cProject Freedom\u201d military operation to guide stranded vessels through the waterway.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the US president said he would briefly pause the operation<\/a>, citing \u201cgreat progress\u201d towards a comprehensive agreement with Iran, and saying it came at the request of mediator Pakistan. The US naval blockade of Hormuz, however, remains in effect, Trump said.<\/p>\n In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump said the war could end if \u201cIran agrees to give what has been agreed \u2060to\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAssuming 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,\u201d he wrote on Truth Social.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they don\u2019t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,\u201d Trump added.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said Tehran was reviewing a US proposal and would convey its view to mediator Pakistan, the Iranian Students\u2019 News Agency reported.<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, mediating between Tehran and Washington, said he was \u201cgrateful\u201d for Trump pausing the operation.<\/p>\n Sharif said on Wednesday that the pause will \u201cgo a long way towards advancing regional peace, stability and reconciliation during this sensitive period\u201d.<\/p>\n Iran began to block<\/a> the strait after the US and Israel launched their war on February 28, with Iranian forces attacking a number of ships, laying sea mines and charging fees for safe transit through the narrow channel.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s establishment of the \u201cPersian Gulf Strait Authority\u201d on Tuesday, a new body to regulate and organise the passage of vessels, whether military or commercial, seeks to permanently alter the status of the strait.<\/p>\n \u201cPractically, what Iranians are saying is that this is not a temporary new maritime regime; they are talking about a permanent change in the status of the strait, and they say they are not going to give up on that,\u201d said Al Jazeera\u2019s Resul Serdar Atas, reporting from Tehran.<\/p>\n \u2018Project Freedom\u2019 paused<\/p>\n The US operation in the strait had failed to bring about any significant resumption of traffic through the waterway, while provoking a new wave of Iranian strikes on ships in the strait and on targets in neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n In the latest attack, French shipping group CMA CGM said one of its vessels, the San Antonio, had been attacked while \u2060transiting the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in injuries among crew members and damage to the vessel.<\/p>\n The company said on Wednesday that the incident occurred a day earlier, with the injured crew now having been evacuated and given medical care.<\/p>\n The attack is the latest disruption in the crucial shipping route during the Middle East conflict.<\/a> The war has blocked hundreds of vessels, stranded thousands of people and brought roughly \u200c20 percent of global oil trade to a virtual standstill.<\/p>\n