Trump and Iranian foreign minister say Strait of Hormuz is fully open
Beirut: US President Donald Trump and Iran’s foreign minister confirmed that the Strait of Hormuz is now fully open to commercial ships as the 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon continues.
The ceasefire brought a pause in fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and could remove one of the major obstacles to a deal between Iran and the United States and Israel that would end devastating weeks of war.
But the militant group played no role in the negotiations and it remains unclear whether it will recognize an agreement that would see Israeli troops occupy part of southern Lebanon.
Trump said in his social media post that Iran announced that the strait is “fully open and ready for full passage.”
A few minutes ago, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had published on X that in accordance with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage of all commercial ships through the strait was “declared completely open.” He said the ceasefire would remain open for the remainder of its duration.
It was not immediately clear what this meant for the US blockade of the strait, but Trump said the blockade “will remain in full force” until Iran reaches an agreement with the US to end the war.
In an all-caps post on social media, the president said the U.S. Navy’s blockade of Iranian ships and ports would remain in effect “UNTIL OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE.”
“THIS PROCESS MUST PROCEED VERY QUICKLY SINCE MOST OF THE POINTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN NEGOTIATED,” Trump added.
Oil prices fell more than ten percent on Friday in response to the news, with Wall Street heading for a new record.
Meanwhile, in Beirut, residents fired shots into the air just after midnight to mark the beginning of the ceasefire, while gunfire rang out across the city and displaced families began advancing towards South Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, despite warnings from authorities not to attempt to return to their homes until it was clear whether the ceasefire would continue.
A spokesman for UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon said they had not observed any airstrikes since midnight, but accused the Israeli army of violating airspace and shelling southern Lebanon with artillery. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the matter. According to the agreement shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel can act in self-defense against impending attacks, but cannot carry out offensive operations against Southern Lebanon.
In his speech in Las Vegas, Trump expressed that he was confident that the war with Iran would end soon, and heralded the agreement as “a historic day for Lebanon.”
“I will say that the war in Iran is going smoothly,” Trump said. “It must be over very soon.”
An end to Israel’s war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who had previously accused Israel of breaking the existing ceasefire agreement by attacking Lebanon. Israel said the agreement did not cover Lebanon.
Pakistan’s army chief met with the speaker of Iran’s parliament on Thursday as part of international pressure efforts to extend the ceasefire.
The conflict has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen US soldiers were also killed.
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