Iran declares Hormuz Strait ‘completely open’ for ships
While Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi said that the Strait of Hormuz was open after the ceasefire agreement reached in Lebanon, US President Donald Trump said that he believed that an agreement to end the Iran war would be reached “soon”.
Araqchi said in a post on channel X that the strait is open to all commercial ships for the remainder of the 10-day US-brokered ceasefire reached between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday between Israeli forces and pro-Iran Hezbollah.
The passage will be through designated lanes that Iran deems safe for navigation and military ships will be excluded, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.
However, Trump said that the US military blockade of ships going to Iranian ports through the strait, which was announced last week after the talks with Iran in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad ended without an agreement, continues.
He said the blockade would remain in full force “until our agreement with Iran is 100 percent complete” and that this should happen very quickly, given that most points have already been negotiated.
Progress has been made in backdoor diplomacy and a meeting between the two sides could result in the signing of a memorandum of understanding followed by a comprehensive agreement within 60 days, a Pakistani source acting as a mediator between the United States and Iran said on Friday.
“Both sides agree in principle. Technical details will come later,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the announcement of reopening the Strait of Hormuz but said it should be permanent.
The two said they would continue planning an international mission to restore maritime security, with a meeting with military planners in London next week.
Speaking after the meeting attended by 50 countries, Macron said, “We all demand the full, immediate and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by all parties.”
A US-backed ceasefire reached between Israel and Lebanon to end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah appeared largely valid on Friday, despite some reports that the Lebanese army had been violated by Israel.
There was no comment from the Israeli army about the ceasefire violations reported on Friday.
The United States has banned Israel from dropping any more bombs on Lebanon, Trump said Friday.
“Israel will no longer bomb Lebanon. It is BANNED from doing so by the USA. Enough!!!” Trump said in his social media post.
with AP
