Strait of Hormuz Fully Open Until the End of the “Lebanon” Ceasefire

Abbas Araghchi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic, wrote on social media on Friday, April 17: “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.”

He further noted: “On the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran.”

At the same time, Axios, citing several U.S. officials, reported that the United States government and the Islamic Republic are negotiating a three-page plan to end the war. One of the clauses under discussion involves the United States releasing $20 billion in frozen Iranian assets in exchange for the “handover of enriched uranium stockpiles.”

This report comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the Pentagon that “Iran has agreed to everything and has accepted to deliver the enriched uranium.”

Also on Friday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister claimed that Iran rejects any temporary ceasefire and is seeking a complete end to the war across the entire region. Saeed Khatibzadeh, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, stated that any ceasefire must cover the area “from Lebanon to the Red Sea,” describing this as Iran’s “red line.”

Al Jazeera quoted the Deputy Foreign Minister as saying, “We do not accept any temporary ceasefire,” and that violence “must end here, forever.” Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, he stated that the waterway, which lies within Iran’s territorial waters, has always been accessible.

The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has been established for ten days, though both sides accused each other of violations only hours after the announcement.

U.S. President Donald Trump, in a brief post on Truth Social, noted that “Iran has just announced that the Strait of Hormuz is fully open and ready for full passage.”

However, he added that, despite the reopening of the Strait for commercial activity, the naval blockade against vessels associated with the Islamic Republic “will remain fully in place and enforced specifically regarding Iran until our deal with Iran is 100% finalized.”