US President Donald Trump signalled yesterday that an Iran peace deal was all but done as Tehran announced that the Strait of Hormuz was fully open following a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X the strait was open for all commercial vessels for the remainder of the US-brokered 10-day truce to halt fighting between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hizbollah.
Shortly after Araqchi’s statement, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open and ready for passage.”
In a rapid-fire stream of posts, Trump praised a ‘Great and brilliant day for the world!’.
“Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World,” he claimed.
But statements from both sides left uncertainty over how quickly shipping could resume. Trump said a US blockade of ships sailing to Iranian ports – announced after talks with Tehran last weekend ended without agreement – would remain until ‘our transaction with Iran is 100% complete’.
Shipping companies cautiously welcomed Iran’s announcement but said they needed further clarifications before resuming transits, particularly around security risks such as the presence of sea mines.
A Malta-flagged cruise ship yesterday became the first passenger ship to move through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the US-Iran conflict, according to vessel-tracking company MarineTraffic. The passengerless Celestyal Discovery departed Dubai and headed for Muscat, Oman, after being docked for approximately 47 days.
However, around 20 vessels that began sailing towards the Strait yesterday evening soon halted, with some turning back, MarineTraffic data showed. It was not immediately clear why the ships stopped. The group included three container ships operated by French shipping group CMA CGM. As of 2100 GMT, tracking data showed several new ships, mainly tankers, heading towards the strait.
It also was unclear how US and Iran would address Tehran’s nuclear programme, which has been a key sticking point in talks so far. Trump told Reuters the US will work with Iran to recover its enriched uranium and bring it back to the US as part of any deal to end the war.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that no agreement had been reached and serious negotiations were required to overcome differences between the two sides.
He said Tehran hoped a preliminary agreement could be reached in the coming days that could extend a ceasefire that is due to expire next week.
Oil prices fell about 10 per cent, and global stocks jumped on the news that marine traffic might flow through the strait again.
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