Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X that the strategic waterway was open to commercial vessels for the duration of a 10-day ceasefire brokered by the United States between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Shortly after Araqchi’s statement, US President Donald Trump said he believed that
Washington would soon reach a deal with Iran to end the war, the Reuters news agency reported.
Trump said, however, that a US military blockade targeting ships heading to Iranian ports—announced after failed talks with Iran in Islamabad last weekend—would remain in place until Washington's deal with Tehran "is 100 percent complete."
The US-Israeli war with Iran, which began on February 28, has killed thousands and destabilised the Middle East.
The conflict also effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, raising fears of a major global energy shock, Reuters reported.
The International Monetary Fund this week lowered its global growth forecasts and warned that a prolonged conflict could push the world economy toward a recession.
(gs)
Source: Reuters, IAR, PAP