Iran’s Big Announcement Strait of Hormuz “Completely Open” as Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire Takes Hold; Crude Prices Tumble 10%
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that the Strait of Hormuz will remain fully open for commercial shipping for the duration of the ongoing ceasefire, a declaration that sent crude oil prices sharply lower.
In a post on X, Araghchi stated that passage through the strategic waterway has been 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” specifying that the move is in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon.
US President Donald Trump swiftly confirmed the development on social media. “Iran has just announced that the strait of Iran is fully open and ready for full passage. Thank you!” Trump wrote. According to the Associated Press, crude prices dropped 10 per cent following the announcement.
The Ceasefire Behind the Move
The Hormuz announcement is directly tied to a broader diplomatic push. Trump on Thursday revealed a 10-day ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, saying he was also working to arrange the first-ever direct meeting between the two countries’ leaders.
The Lebanon-Israel truce, Trump said, came together after what he described as “excellent” phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. “These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve peace between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 day ceasefire at 5 P.M. EST,” Trump announced on his Truth Social network.
The deal itself forms part of Washington’s wider effort to negotiate an end to the war with Iran Tehran had made a Lebanon truce a non-negotiable condition of any broader agreement.
Trump later indicated he expects both Netanyahu and Aoun to visit the White House “over the next four or five days.”