Trump claims Iran has made lifelong promise as Strait of Hormuz reopens
Donald Trump has claimed Iran has made a lifelong promise after officials announced that the Strait of Hormuz had been 'declared completely open' amid a two-week Iran-US ceasefire.
Trump took to Truth Social to announce the alleged promise after the Strait of Hormuz, which is the world's busiest oil shipping canal, was effectively closed for weeks after the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran in February.
In a post on X today (April 17), Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced news of the reopening in a statement, writing: "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 ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran."
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While Araghchi's post states the Strait is open for 'the remaining period of ceasefire', Trump indicated no such timeline as he posted on Truth Social that the Strait was 'completely open and ready for business and full passage'.
However, he added: "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% complete. This process should go very quickly in that most of the points are already negotiated."
Trump continued to share his excitement about the reopening in follow-up posts, including one which declared it a 'great and brilliant day for the world'.
The POTUS then shared an alleged promise from Iran, writing: "Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World! President DONALD J. TRUMP."
According to CBS, however, Tehran has not confirmed any such commitment.
The impacts of the reopening are already evident, with the cost of a barrel of Brent crude falling to below $90 a barrel after previously sitting above $98, and stock markets in the US rising, though commercial crews on the ground near the Strait, which connects the Gulf with the Arabian Sea, have indicated they aren't taking any immediate action.
One oil and gas tanker operator told the BBC the statement on the reopening 'doesn’t change anything' just yet.
"We don’t feel like we need to be taking unnecessary risks, and our company approach is that we won’t be the first to go through the strait," the company said.
The Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Dominguez, wrote in a post on X: "We are currently verifying the recent announcement related to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, in terms of its compliance with freedom of navigation for all merchant vessels and secure passage using the IMO established traffic separation scheme."
Topics: Donald Trump, Iran, World News
Emily Brown