President Trump and Iran’s foreign minister announced Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is now “completely open” for all commercial ships — but the US blockade on Iranian ports will “remain in full force” until a deal is reached to end the war.
“In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of the ceasefire,” Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a post to X.
The cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon went into place on Friday and is scheduled to last 10 days.
Trump later took to Truth Social to tout the news himself, but said that the reopening of the critical chokepoint — which carries 20% of the world’s oil — would instead be permanent.
“Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again,” he wrote. “It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World!”
However, the commander-in-chief insisted that the US naval blockade on Iranian ships and ports would remain until Tehran reached a deal with Washington to end the war.
Maintaining the blockade allows the US to hold its leverage against Iran — to force the theocratic regime to come to the table for peace talks and agree to a fair deal, while allowing other ships to access the waterway.
Trump later clarified that the reopening of the strait meant all sea mines would be removed. Iran had littered the passage with explosives during the war.
“Iran, with the help of the U.S.A., has removed, or is removing, all sea mines! Thank you! President DJT,” he wrote on Truth Social.
It was unclear whether the reopening also meant Iran would stop charging commercial vessels tolls in order to pass through the strait safely.
Iran, for its part, did not explicitly clarify if its vow to open the Strait of Hormuz meant it would stop charging tolls or stop firing at vessels.
“It seems to me that he is saying that any country now can get through, but they still have to pay the toll,” Trita Parsi, executive VP of the Quincy Institute in Washington, DC, told CNN.
Araghchi instead stressed that the critical passage is open “on the coordinated route,” referring to a pathway approved by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
All commercial ships’ plans to sail through the Strait of Hormuz need to be coordinated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.
The official added that military vessels were still prohibited from crossing the strait.
Trump also announced a separate deal with Lebanon in a Truth Social post, in which he also put Israel on notice.
“The U.S.A. will get all Nuclear “Dust,” created by our great B2 Bombers – No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form. This deal is in no way subject to Lebanon, either, but the USA will, separately, work with Lebanon, and deal with the Hezboolah [sic] situation in an appropriate manner. Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!! Thank you! President DJT,” he wrote.
Follow The Post’s coverage on the latest in the war with Iran:
Iran had initially claimed that Lebanon was included in the US-Iran cease-fire, but Washington held firm that Israel’s battle with the Iranian proxy group was not included.
The US-Iran deal — which is set to expire Tuesday — set the stage for peace talks to occur between the two countries. There has been no agreement to extend the US-Iran cease-fire.
Mediator Pakistan is working to arrange a second round of talks, but the parties have yet to formally commit. Now, the pressure is on to get one scheduled in Islamabad before the clock runs out.
