Middle East crisis live: Trump changes strait of Hormuz plan again as Rubio says US offensive is ‘over’

US president says he will briefly pause Project Freedom after just one day; Rubio says US has achieved objectives of Iran operation; Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi flies to China Trump puts ‘Project Freedom’ on hold, saying he hopes to finalise deal with Iran Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi met with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi for talks in Beijing on Wednesday, China’s Xinhua news agency reported, without giving details on the discussion. Iran’s Fars news agency earlier said Araghchi would “discuss bilateral relations and regional and international developments with his Chinese counterpart”. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the military objectives of so-called “Operation Epic Fury” have concluded and the offensive stage of the war with Iran is “over”.