Category Archives: Strait of Hormuz

‘A Head-Spinning Day’: BBC Correspondent Brands Trump ‘Erratic’ For Ditching ‘Project Freedom’

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A BBC correspondent branded Donald Trump “erratic” after he ditched his latest attempt to re-open the Strait of Hormuz barely a day after launching it.

The US president claimed he was temporarily ending Project Freedom “based on the request of Pakistan and other countries”.

He said it was being “paused for a short period of time” to see whether a peace deal could be agreed to end the war in Iran.

His comments, in a post on Truth Social, came just hours after US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Project Freedom was needed to save “23,000 civilians from 87 different countries that are trapped … and left for dead in the Persian Gulf.”

Iran has affectively closed the Strait of Hormuz – a vital waterway which carried one-fifth of the world’s oil supply before the war – since America and Israel started bombing the country on February 28.

Since then, more than 1,000 tankers have been left stranded in the region.

Trump announced at the weekend that the US Navy would “guide” stranded ships through the Strait.

However, only two made it through before he announced that Project Freedom was being halted.

On Radio 4′s Today programme on Wednesday, BBC US correspondent David Willis said: “What are we to make of all this? Well, Project Freedom had antagonised Iran, which had fired missiles and drones at US forces in the area.

“And Iran had threatened to effectively put an end to the fragile ceasefire by maintaining control of the Strait of Hormuz. Added to which it had only led to the passage of two merchant ships through the Strait, albeit it had only been in effect for a day.

“Did the US, I wonder, perhaps feel it was backfiring? We’ll have to wait and see.”

He added: ”[It has been] a head-spinning day even by Donald Trump’s somewhat erratic standards.

“The question now is where does this leave the 1,600 or so ships that remain stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, some of which have been there for getting on three months now.

“The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said earlier that hundreds of commercial vessels were lining up to be guided through the Strait of Hormuz by the US navy. What happens to them now, and indeed the precious commodities such as oil and fertiliser that the US was also hoping to liberate?”

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Trump Hits Out At Starmer As UK Confirms It Won’t Join His Strait Of Hormuz Blockade

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Donald Trump has launched another attack on Keir Starmer as it emerged the UK will not be involved in his plan to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.

The US president announced on Sunday that America and “other countries” will stop ships coming in and out of the vital waterway.

Around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquid gas supply usually passes through the key shipping lane.

But it has been effectively closed since the start of the war, with Iran targeting tankers which try to sail through it unless they agree to pay a toll.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “The Blockade will begin shortly. Other Countries will be involved with this Blockade.

“Iran will not be allowed to profit off this Illegal Act of EXTORTION. They want money and, more importantly, they want Nuclear. Additionally and, at an appropriate moment, we are fully “LOCKED AND LOADED,” and our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran!”

However, it is understood the UK will not be part of the US effort, although British mine hunters are already in the area.

A government spokesperson would only say: “We continue to support freedom of navigation and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, which is urgently needed to support the global economy and the cost of living back home.

“The Strait of Hormuz must not be subject to tolling. We are urgently working with France and other partners to put together a wide coalition to protect freedom of navigation.”

Meanwhile, Trump used an interview with Fox News on Sunday to once again compare Keir Starmer to Hitler-appeasing 1930s prime minister Neville Chamberlain.

He said: “Nato is shameful. I mean, look at the United Kingdom.

“PM Starmer said ‘we’ll send the equipment after the war is over’. I said ‘you don’t need equipment when the war is over. You need the equipment before the war starts, or during the war’.

“He made a public statement that ‘we will send equipment after the war is over’, that’s a Neville Chamberlain statement.”

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “The UK should be working with other countries to get the US and Iran back to the negotiating table, not fanning the flames of war.

“It’s just days since Trump threatened to destroy a whole civilisation, and a return to war would be disastrous. The prime minister needs to work in lock-step with our reliable partners to secure a diplomatic end to this crisis.”

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Trump Pulls Back From The Brink As US And Iran Agree 2-Week Ceasefire

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Less than two hours before the deadline he imposed, Donald Trump announced he is holding off on his threat to destroy Iran’s “whole civilisation” for two weeks.

His statement, which came with the caveat that Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, also said Iran presented a “10-point proposal” that is “workable.”

The Strait of Hormuz, a waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that serves as a channel for transporting oil and gas, is controlled by Iran and is integral to the global economy.

“This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE! The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel also backed the ceasefire, but noted that the deal doesn’t apply to its conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to The Associated Press and Reuters.

“Israel supports President Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks subject to Iran immediately opening the straits and stopping all attacks on the US, Israel and countries in the region,” the Israeli prime minister’s account shared on X.

“The two-weeks ceasefire does not include Lebanon,” the account also noted.

Shortly after Trump’s announcement, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed it had agreed to the two-week ceasefire.

“It is emphasized that this does not signify the termination of the war,” Iran’s statement said. “Our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force.”

Iran Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a statement that “safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations” for two weeks.

Yet soon thereafter, missiles were detected by Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council also detailed alleged provisions of a 10-point plan in a statement, NBC News and The Associated Press reported.

Its characterisation included the “withdrawal of US combat forces from all bases and positions in the region” and “controlled passage through the Strait of Hormuz coordinated with Iran’s armed forces”.

However, Iran apparently released two different versions of the plan, The Associated Press reported.

“In the version released in Farsi, Iran included the phrase ‘acceptance of enrichment’ for its nuclear programme. But for reasons that remain unclear, that phrase was missing in English versions shared by Iranian diplomats to journalists,” AP noted.

The news of the two-week ceasefire was announced after Trump made a jarring threat against Iran earlier in the day.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social, essentially threatening genocide if the Strait of Hormuz wasn’t open.

On February 28, the US and Israel began Operation Epic Fury, relentlessly bombarding Iran. Though contradictory or nonsensical statements from Trump are nothing new, the president has made numerous conflicting remarks about the war and the US’s objectives in Iran.

He has also backtracked on the deadlines he has imposed and the threats he has made multiple times. Experts have said that destroying Iran’s civilian infrastructure, as Trump has threatened to do, would be a war crime.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” Trump wrote on social media on Sunday.

Trump made a similar threat on March 21, demanding that the Strait be “FULLY OPEN” in 48 hours, or the U.S. would “obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”

But on March 23, Trump shelved those plans, saying the US had “had productive” discussions with Iran. He announced another 10-day postponement, “pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction” beginning on March 26, after the stock market dropped.

On April 1, Trump said the strait needed to be “open, free and clear” for a ceasefire to be implemented. “Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!

The US Congress, which is on Easter recess, has largely remained quiet on the war and Trump’s recent genocidal threat.

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

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