Trump administration sows confusion as it tries to reopen Strait of
Hormuz
[May 07, 2026]
By BEN FINLEY, MATTHEW LEE, FARNOUSH AMIRI and AAMER
MADHANI
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's approach to the Iran war
over the past 24 hours has pinballed from declarations that a tenuous
ceasefire was holding and military operations were over to new threats
of bombing the Islamic Republic.
Tuesday started with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth explaining how the
U.S. military was protecting stranded ships so they could traverse the
Strait of Hormuz. He insisted it was a defensive operation and the truce
was still in place even though Iran had launched missiles and drones at
U.S. forces, which sank Tehran’s small attack boats.
That afternoon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at the
White House that the military operation was “concluded” and that the
U.S. achieved its objectives. But in almost the same breath, he said
President Donald Trump was still seeking a “path of peace” that required
Iran to agree to a deal to reopen the vital oil shipping corridor.
By Tuesday evening, Trump announced that the effort to protect ships was
paused to see if an agreement could be reached. Then on Wednesday
morning, he again warned that bombing would resume if Tehran didn't
agree to U.S. terms.
The Trump administration’s shifting and often contradictory messaging
throughout the Iran war has produced ever more confusion this week as
the president and his aides presented a dizzying narrative over the U.S.
strategy to unblock the Strait of Hormuz and wrap up the war that
drastically changed over the course of mere hours.
Administration officials have been trying to walk a fine line between
maintaining the ceasefire and reopening the strait, where 20% of the
world’s oil normally flows. The economic fallout is growing as fuel
prices rise, with Republicans facing increasing pressure to find
solutions to higher costs ahead of the midterm congressional elections.
Aides are trying to sell Trump's strategies
The Trump administration has struggled with its messaging because the
war wasn't well planned, said Elizabeth Dent, a senior fellow at the
Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“Because it happened very quickly, it wasn’t sold to the American public
in a way that I think was palatable,” said Dent, a former official in
the State Department and Pentagon. “Now I think Trump is sort of doing
everything he can to prevent a return of hostilities because he saw how
unpopular the war was.”
Throughout the conflict, the president has shifted his priorities and
his perspectives on victory. He's offered a murky definition of a
ceasefire. And he's provided his own interpretation of a law that
requires congressional approval for military operations after 60 days.
The confusion is fueled in part by Trump’s tendency to make off-the-cuff
statements that essentially make policy, Dent said. Aides like Rubio and
Hegseth must then explain Trump's statements.
The whirlwind 24 hours of decision-making by the Trump administration
also reflects a realization that any alternative to an agreement “is
going to range from unpalatable to outright ugly” at a moment of great
political importance for the Republican president, said Ali Vaez, Iran
director at the International Crisis Group.
“This is not an administration that operates based on a policy process.
It operates based on impulse. And the president seems now both tired of
this war and reluctant to continue investing his political capital into
it,” Vaez said.
The administration's narrative whipsaws on the Strait of Hormuz
effort
The last couple of days have been emblematic of how the Trump
administration's statements can seem out of sync and hard to follow.
The president said Sunday that U.S. forces would safely guide hundreds
of stranded commercial vessels out of the strait, which Iran has
effectively closed by firing at ships off its coast.
On Tuesday, Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen.
Dan Caine, said two American-flagged freighters transited the waterway
to lead the effort, but Iran fired at U.S. ships and the military sank
six Iranian small attack boats.
When asked about the fire from both sides, Hegseth said, “No, the
ceasefire is not over.” Caine also said Iranian attacks did not reach
the level of “restarting major combat operations.”
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Rubio later insisted Trump's preference was diplomacy.
“Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of
that operation,” he said, referring to the code name for the
U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. “What the president would prefer is a
deal.”
A deal seemed closer at hand when Trump said Tuesday night on social
media that he was halting the operation in the strait to see what
would happen with negotiations.
One key ally, Saudi Arabia, had been skeptical of what turned out to
be the short-lived plan by Trump to guide the stranded vessels out
of the strait, according to a person familiar with the diplomatic
conversations. The person, who was familiar with the conversations
but who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to discuss them publicly, said the Saudis conveyed they
didn’t see Trump’s plan as a feasible way to get the strait open and
create confidence for vessel operators and insurers who are looking
for a lasting solution to U.S.-Iranian standoff over the waterway.
The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not offer any immediate comment
on the kingdom’s position on Trump’s effort, dubbed “Project
Freedom.”
By Wednesday morning, Trump was threatening Iran once again.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at
a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” he wrote on
Truth Social.
The U.S. military said Wednesday that it shot at and disabled an
Iranian oil tanker as it tried to breach the blockade of Iran’s
shipping.
Seeking help from other countries in the strait
Another confusing element is the administration's efforts to
persuade allies to deploy warships to help reopen the Strait of
Hormuz.
Trump has been lashing out at countries unwilling to do more,
telling them to “go get your own oil” and saying it was not
America’s job to secure the strait. But administration officials
have begun actively soliciting help while toning down their
language.
Rubio said the issue is not a lack of interest, but that many are
unable to provide the necessary resources.
“A lot of countries would love to do something about it. But they
don’t have a navy, right? Or they can’t get there in time,” he said.
After Trump's abrupt suspension of the initiative, two U.S.
officials said the administration was still deciding whether, and
how, to proceed with planning, following the State Department’s
formal request for support from countries last week.
The officials, who spoke on Wednesday on condition of anonymity to
discuss internal deliberations, said Trump’s announcement had not
been expected and that they had not been offered detailed guidance
on whether to withdraw the requests for support.
U.S. allies like Britain and France have rejected on-again,
off-again suggestions from Trump that they become militarily
involved, but they have led the formation of a separate
international maritime coalition to secure the strait — but only
once the threat to shipping ends. France’s aircraft carrier strike
group is moving south of the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea in
preparation for a potential French-British mission in the strait.
The issue only has been more complicated by Trump’s trip to Beijing
next week.
“Going to China while the strait remains closed is humiliating for
President Trump and puts China in a position of strength vis-a-vis
the United States, because President Trump would have to, as he has
done recently, ask for China’s help to resolve a problem that didn’t
exist before he launched a war,” Vaez said.
___
Amiri reported from New York.
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