Iran says Strait of Hormuz open for commercial vessels after Lebanon deal

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz, vital for the global trade in oil and other commodities, was open following a ceasefire accord agreed in Lebanon.

Araqchi said in a post on X that the Strait was open for all commercial vessels for the “remaining period of ceasefire”.

It was not immediately clear whether he was speaking of the 10-day truce agreed by Lebanon and Israel that went into effect at midnight or an earlier two-week truce between Iran and the United States that began on April 8.

He said the passage of ships would need to be along the route that Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation had announced.

US President Donald Trump welcomed Iran’s announcement. “THANK YOU!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

But in a separate post, he said that the US military blockade of ships sailing through the Strait to Iranian ports — announced after talks with Iran last weekend in Islamabad ended without a breakthrough — remained in place.

“The Strait of Hormuz is completely open and ready for business and full passage, but the naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100 per cent complete,” he wrote on Truth Social in all caps.

The US-Israeli attack on Iran, which started on February 28, has killed thousands of people and destabilised the Middle East.

The conflict also effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transits, threatening the worst oil shock in history.

Oil prices fell by about 9 per cent, extending earlier losses, following Araqchi’s post.

The International Monetary Fund this week lowered its forecasts for global growth and warned the global economy risked tipping into recession if the conflict was prolonged.

Trump had said on Thursday that talks could happen as soon as this weekend, although that was looking increasingly unlikely by Friday afternoon given the logistics of assembling officials in Islamabad, where the talks are expected to take place.