US said hoping to resume Hormuz naval escorts as it awaits Iran’s response to peace offer |
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have lifted restrictions on the US military’s use of their bases and airspace that were imposed after the launch of a US operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, potentially paving the way for the effort to begin afresh in the coming days, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing US and Saudi officials.
Meanwhile, Iran has yet to respond to the latest proposal from Washington to end the war, saying that it is still reviewing the offer that US President Donald Trump has characterized as Tehran’s final chance to prevent a renewed military campaign.
US officials cited by The Wall Street Journal said that with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait agreeing to lift restrictions, Washington was now seeking to resume “Project Freedom,” the naval operation to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, after Trump announced earlier this week that he was pausing the mission less than two days after it began amid Pakistani-mediated negotiations with Iran.
Saudi officials told the outlet that Riyadh and Kuwait decided to prevent the US military from using their bases and airspace after senior officials in Washington downplayed the attacks launched by Iran on the Gulf in response to the operation, prompting concern that US forces may not protect them.
The US military announced the launch of Project Freedom on Sunday with the goal of restoring freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked to almost all traffic since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28.
Even after the fighting entered a truce on April 8, Iran maintained its tight grip over the Strait of Hormuz, choking off some 20 percent of the world’s oil shipments and prompting the US to launch its own blockade on Iran-linked shipping on April 13.
The latest US naval operation in the key waterway had sparked fears that fighting would resume, after Iran launched new attacks on the United Arab Emirates and the US fired on Iranian vessels.
But before the fears could be realized, Trump announced that he was pausing the operation less than 48 hours after it began, ostensibly due to “great progress” in Pakistani-mediated peace talks with Iran.
The talks have faltered over Iran’s nuclear program and the postwar control of the Strait of Hormuz.
NBC News reported Thursday, however, that Trump halted the naval operation due to opposition from Saudi Arabia, which wouldn’t let American aircraft involved in the effort use the kingdom’s airspace.
Riyadh denied that this was the case, although the subsequent Wall Street Journal report, if correct, contradicts the denial.
Neither side has given any indication that they are willing to budge over the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, and on Thursday, The Washington Post reported that the CIA believes Iran can withstand........