Donald Trump is pausing „Project Freedom" - the American operation to ensure safe transit of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. But the blockade of Iranian ports continues. The message: we negotiate, but we don't rest.

According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the operation is essentially over. Meanwhile, in the Middle East, „the ceasefire is being respected". Still, only a handful of ships have managed to pass through the strait so far, while the US keeps Iran blocked from the sea.

Iranian media immediately declared the pause a victory. That's the symbolic side of the whole story: who gets to define the outcome in front of the world? Trump claims America „won" two weeks ago. Iran claims America „backed off".

The truth? Somewhere in between. World markets responded with a drop in oil prices. Brent fell below 110 dollars. That's the first real signal that one of the players believes the escalation is over.

But geopolitics doesn't think only about oil prices. Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi called „Project Freedom" a „Project Dead End". The sharp rhetoric on both sides hasn't stopped. From the American side, Hegseth says: „Iran cannot be allowed to block the Strait of Hormuz." The Iranians reply: „We're only just getting started."

For the Balkans, this is news that loosens the stomach knots of pensioners following the headlines. Expensive oil means expensive food, expensive transport, expensive electricity through winter. Every day without escalation is a good day for our region - not because we're part of the conflict, but because we always pay the side effects.

What's next? Chinese-Russian mediation work is visible in the background - and Trump, true to form, will want to wrap up the conflict with „a one-page deal". If he pulls it off - a victory. If he doesn't - escalation again. There's no middle ground in his vocabulary.

And while „one-page deals" are being drafted in the White House, our electricity bills are being printed every month. That is the real economic geopolitics of the region - the one no Washington cocaine-fuelled narrative ever bothers to measure.