Trump said in a statement on social media late on Tuesday that the U.S. had agreed to a request by Pakistani mediators “to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal … and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.” But even as he announced what appeared to be a unilateral ceasefire extension,
Trump also said he would continue the U.S. Navy’s blockade of Iran’s trade by sea. The United States fired on and seized an Iranian cargo vessel on Saturday and boarded a huge Iranian oil tanker on Tuesday in the Indian Ocean.
Iran considers the U.S. blockade an act of war and has said it will not lift its closure of the strait, which has caused a global energy crisis, as long as the U.S. blockade continues. Just hours before Trump called off attacks, he had repeated threats to resume them, declaring that his military was “raring to go”. Throughout the war, Iran has effectively shut the strait to ships other than its own by attacking vessels that attempt to transit without its permission. Around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes through the waterway.
On Wednesday, Britain’s maritime security agency UKMTO said that at least three container ships had reported being hit by gunfire in the strait. The master of one ship reported being approached by an Iranian gunboat northeast of Oman on Wednesday, the agency said. The vessel came under fire from guns and rocket-propelled grenades and its bridge was heavily damaged, although there were no reports of casualties or environmental damage. Two other ships had said they came under fire about eight nautical miles west of Iran with no reported injuries. Iran has condemned the U.S. Navy intercepting Iranian ships at sea as part of its blockade, including a huge tanker bound for Singapore that was boarded in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday hours before peace talks had been due to resume. Iran’s foreign ministry accused the U.S. of “piracy at sea and state terrorism”.