Iran temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz on Friday following a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, raising optimism about peace talks, but Tehran warned that it could close the crucial waterway again if the recent U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports continued. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced on social media that the strait was open for all commercial vessels for the remainder of the U.S.-brokered 10-day truce that was agreed on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon, which Israel invaded after the Iran-allied Hezbollah militant group joined the fighting.
Trump said a U.S. blockade of ships sailing to Iranian ports, announced after talks with Iran last weekend ended without agreement, would remain until “our transaction with Iran is 100% complete”. Iran responded sharply, with its parliament speaker and senior negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, saying in a social media post that the strait “will not remain open” if the U.S. blockade continues. He also said Trump had made multiple false claims about the peace talks on Friday.
Iran has said all ships must coordinate with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which was not the case before the war. The Defense Ministry said in a statement quoted by state television that military vessels and ships linked to “hostile forces”, U.S. and Israel, were still not permitted to pass.