Las Vegas (AFP) – President Donald Trump on Friday welcomed Iran’s announcement that the crucial Strait of Hormuz will reopen to shipping, but said a US blockade of Iranian ports would continue until a peace deal is signed.
“THANK YOU!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, saying that Iran had announced the narrow waterway was “FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE.” In a second message a few minutes later, Trump posted that “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 said, using his trademark style of all-capital letters. Trump had said to reporters on Thursday that a peace deal with Iran was “very close” despite the fact that talks led by Vice President JD Vance in Pakistan at the weekend did not reach any breakthrough.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had announced earlier Friday that the strait, vital for the global trade in oil and other commodities, will remain “completely open” as long as a ceasefire in the Middle East lasts. It wasn’t immediately clear if he was referring to a 10-day truce agreed by Lebanon and Israel that went into effect at midnight or an earlier two-week truce between Iran and the United States that began on April 8.
© 2024 AFP
