AGENCIES

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi yesterday said the Strait of Hormuz was open following a ceasefire agreed on in Lebanon, while US President Donald Trump said he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come “soon”, though the timing remained unclear.

“The passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of the ceasefire,” Araqchi said on X.

It was unclear whether he was referring to the 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon that took effect at midnight, or an earlier two-week truce between Iran and the United States that began on April 8.

Iran, which had effectively blocked the crucial waterway, had made extending a ceasefire to Lebanon a condition for reopening it.

A senior Iranian military official told state television that only civilian vessels would be allowed to pass through designated routes with permission from the navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“The passage of military vessels through the Strait of Hormuz remains prohibited,” the official said.

Trump welcomed Iran’s announcement but said the US naval “The

SEE PAGE 2 COL 1