On Tuesday, the United States announced that its offensive military operations against Iran have ended, and that the current focus has shifted to ensuring the safe passage of this critical shipping lane. However, after 66 days of airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, a cargo vessel became a target again following repeated attacks, indicating that the conflict has not actually cooled down.

Meanwhile, according to Xinhua News Agency, in the evening of the 5th U.S. Eastern Time, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media, saying that the “Freedom Plan” to “divert” vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz will be temporarily paused in the short term. Trump wrote:

Based on requests from Pakistan and other countries, and given that we have achieved enormous military victories in our actions against Iran, along with major progress toward a comprehensive final agreement reached with Iran’s representatives, both sides have agreed that while the blocking measures will continue to remain in effect, the “Freedom Plan” (i.e., operations for ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a period, to observe whether the agreement can ultimately be reached and signed.

Rubio announces the end of Iran “offensives,” as merchant ships in the strait are attacked again

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio told reporters at the White House: “Operation Epic Fury has ended, and we have achieved the objectives of that operation.”

He also explained that the next goal for the United States is to establish a secure passage area supported by naval and air forces, in order to restore the ability of ships to pass and gradually rebuild all parties’ confidence in the safety of the route.

As Rubio was speaking, a monitoring agency in the UK disclosed that a merchant ship in the strait was hit by an unidentified flying object. U.S. data says that because the waterway is obstructed, more than 1,550 merchant ships have been stranded in the Persian Gulf, involving about 22,000 crew members, and shipping pressure continues to build.

Oil prices fluctuated in this context. On Tuesday, Brent crude oil prices fell at one point by about 3.6%, dropping to below $111 per barrel, after rising nearly 6% the previous day at one point, showing that the market remains highly sensitive to the direction of events.

Political and legal pressure surrounding the conflict is also increasing. The U.S. government has described this military operation as having ended, a claim repeated by multiple senior officials within the past 24 hours. To a certain extent, this has eased domestic pressure facing President Trump, while also sidestepping controversy over legality. The War Powers Act requires the president to terminate military action within 60 days or obtain authorization from Congress, and Trump exceeded this deadline about a week ago.

At the same time, regional military activity has not stopped. Trump had previously announced the “Freedom Plan,” intended to provide passage arrangements for neutral ships stranded in the Persian Gulf, reducing reliance on full naval escort. Then on Monday, the situation escalated again: with U.S. assistance, at least two merchant ships transited the strait and fended off attacks, while two U.S. warships entered the Persian Gulf to carry out missions.

Rubio characterized the efforts to escort the stranded oil tankers through the strait as defensive in nature. “We will not fire unless we are attacked first,” Rubio said to reporters at the White House.

Rubio said that whether the United Nations can pass a U.S.-supported draft Security Council resolution regarding the Strait of Hormuz is “a real test for the United Nations.”

According to a written statement issued earlier by Rubio, the U.S. and Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar jointly drafted a United Nations Security Council draft resolution, “calling on Iran to stop attacks, lay mines, and collect tolls.” “It calls on Iran to disclose the number and locations of mines it has laid and to cooperate with mine-clearing efforts, while supporting the establishment of a humanitarian corridor.”

Earlier at a briefing at the White House, Rubio said the draft resolution was “a very moderate request.” He said that multiple countries have stated—both publicly and privately—that they are willing to support the U.S.-led “Freedom Plan” aimed at ensuring maritime navigation safety in the Strait of Hormuz, but he refused to reveal which countries they are.

Rubio said that once Iran has nuclear weapons, it will “hold the world hostage,” and added that “someone must take action” about it.

With the average gasoline price across the United States reaching $4.50 per gallon, Rubio said that other parts of the world have “indeed been hit hard,” while the U.S. is “a bit more secure than other countries.” He said:

“If Iran has nuclear weapons and then decides to block the Strait of Hormuz, driving our gasoline prices up to $8 or $9 per gallon, we will have no way to do anything about it, because they already have nuclear weapons.”

Iran’s military denies recent attacks on the UAE

The UAE said that its air defense systems on Tuesday intercepted the vast majority of about 20 missiles and drones launched from Iran the day before, indicating that the risk to regional security remains. Even so, U.S. officials played down the impact of these strikes, saying they did not violate the ceasefire arrangement reached less than a month ago.

According to CCTV News, on May 5 local time, the Iranian Armed Forces Hatam Anbia Central Headquarters issued a statement stating that “there were no recent attacks launched against the UAE.” The statement warned that if the UAE takes any action against islands, ports, and coastlines under Iranian jurisdiction, Iran will deliver a “decisive response.”

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected Abu Dhabi’s accusations that Iran fired missiles and drones at the UAE, saying that Iranian armed forces’ actions are always aimed at repelling American aggression. The ministry said that Abu Dhabi has continued to cooperate with the U.S., which threatens Iran’s security and national interests, and it added that even so, Iran has remained restrained.

The diplomatic situation is also at an impasse. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has clearly rejected calls to resume negotiations. According to the semi-official Fars News Agency, in a call with Iraq’s incoming Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, he said:

“The issue is that, on the one hand, the United States is pursuing a policy of maximum pressure against our country, and on the other hand, it expects the Islamic Republic of Iran to sit at the negotiating table and ultimately submit to its unilateral demands—this is an impossible equation.”

Tehran maintains that to achieve a breakthrough, the U.S. must remove the maritime blockade it imposes on Iranian ports; Washington, meanwhile, emphasizes that the blockade measures are undermining Iran’s oil export capacity, thereby putting economic pressure on it and forcing it to give in.

Bloomberg Economics analyst Becca Wasser noted: “We believe the ‘Freedom Plan’ is an attempt to break the deadlock in the strait, a deadlock that has cast a long shadow over the global economy. Even so, the plan still carries significant risk of an escalation of the conflict, as the fighting that broke out on Monday has shown.”

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