US disables Iranian Oil Tanker rudder after blockade breach attempt
The US military fired on an Iranian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday and disabled its rudder after the vessel tried to breach the US blockade of Iranian ports. US fighter aircraft fired several rounds at the tanker, leaving it unable to keep moving as planned.
More than 800 ships and roughly 20,000 crew members remained stranded west of the Strait of Hormuz. Late on Tuesday, President Donald Trump ordered an indefinite pause to Project Freedom, the naval effort meant to guide stranded commercial ships through the waterway.
Trump’s ultimatum to Tehran
Trump also issued a fresh ultimatum to Tehran on Wednesday. He said Iran should accept a deal to end the war, and said that if Iran did not agree, the bombing would start again at a much higher level and intensity than before.
On Truth Social, Trump wrote, “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.” He added, “If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.”
Pakistan mediation and a pause
Trump said the pause in the naval effort came after requests from mediator Pakistan and other countries, but he said the blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place. That left the shipping route and the blockade moving on separate tracks: one limited military escort effort stopped, while pressure on Iranian ports continued.
Earlier on Wednesday, Axios reported that Washington and Tehran were close to agreeing on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war. Officials in Pakistan told that an initial framework could possibly be agreed within 48 hours.
Netanyahu and Ghalibaf
Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to talk to Trump on Wednesday evening, and his office released a video in which Netanyahu said Israel was “prepared for all scenarios.”
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament and most senior negotiator, said in a voice message published on his official Telegram channel that “The enemy, in its new design, is seeking, through a naval blockade, economic pressure and media manipulation, to destroy the country’s cohesion in order to force us to surrender.” Iran has also threatened to deploy mines, drones, missiles and fast-attack craft in the Strait of Hormuz, where the blockade has already left more than 800 ships and roughly 20,000 crew members waiting west of the waterway.
