The US and Iran appeared no closer on Saturday to finding an end to the US-Israeli-imposed war after the two sides traded fire in the Gulf amid a tenuous ceasefire. At the same time, a US intelligence analysis concluded Tehran could withstand a naval blockade for months.
Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire began a month ago, and the United Arab Emirates came under renewed attack this week, a claim that Iran has denied responsibility for.
Washington has been awaiting Tehran’s response to a US proposal that would formally end the war before talks on more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear program. Speaking in Rome on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was expecting a response that day, although an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said Tehran was still weighing its response.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump warned that Washington may escalate its military posture in the Strait of Hormuz if a deal with Iran is not finalised, threatening to revive and expand the paused “Project Freedom” operation.
“We’ll go a different route if everything doesn’t get signed up, buttoned up,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
When asked whether the US would return to “Project Freedom,” Trump responded, “I don’t think so,” but added that it still “might do it.”
He explained that Pakistan, which is mediating talks between Washington and Tehran, asked the US not to resume the military operation.
“We may go back to Project Freedom if things don’t happen,” he said. “It’ll be Project Freedom Plus, meaning Project Freedom plus other things,” without elaborating on what additional measures the expanded operation would entail.
Efforts to end the war between the US and Iran appeared to stall as the two sides traded fire in the Gulf on Friday, while a US intelligence analysis concluded Tehran could withstand a naval blockade for months.
A CIA assessment indicated that Iran would not suffer severe economic pressure from a US blockade of Iranian ports for about another four months, according to a US official familiar with the matter, suggesting that US leverage over Tehran remains limited as the two sides seek to end a conflict that has been unpopular with US voters. The Washington Post first reported the assessment.
A senior intelligence official called the “claims” about the CIA analysis “false,” saying the blockade “is inflicting real, compounding damage – severing trade, crushing revenue, and accelerating systemic economic collapse.”
Washington is awaiting Tehran’s response to a US proposal that would formally end the war before talks on more ?contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.
“We should know something today,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Rome earlier in the day. “We’re expecting a response from them.”
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Tehran was still weighing its response, and none was reported by mid-afternoon in Washington, just before midnight in Tehran.
Meanwhile, a near-total internet blackout imposed by Iranian authorities has entered its 11th week, internet monitoring group NetBlocks said on Saturday.
“The censorship measure presents an extraordinary barrier to knowledge, information and communications for Iranians trying to go about their daily lives,” the group said in a post on X.
The severe internet restrictions have disrupted jobs and businesses across the country.