Middle East crisis live: Iran reopens strait of Hormuz but US blockade remains

Iran’s state tv has reported that ships seeking passage through the strait of Hormuz can only go through a determined route and still need permission from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy, according to Reuters.

Only commercial vessels, and not military ships, can pass the waterway, Iran’s state TV reported, citing a senior military official.

Donald Trump has issued a further comment on the strait of Hormuz, saying it was “completely open and ready for business”.

In another all caps post on Truth Social, he said the US naval blockade of Iranian ports “will remain in full force” until a deal is reached with Iran.He added that the process should move quickly, given that “most of the points are already negotiated”.

He wrote:

THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS AND FULL PASSAGE, BUT 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. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!

The oil price is tumbling, after Iran announced that the strait of Hormuz is now open.

Crude oil has plunged on hopes that energy supplies could resume after weeks of disruption.

Brent crude, the benchmark for oil traded globally, has plunged below $90 a barrel, a 10% fall.

For the latest updates on the economic impact of the war in the Middle East and other financial news, you can follow our business live blog here:

Following Iran’s announcement that the strait of Hormuz is open, Donald Trump has issued his response in an all caps post on his Truth Social app.

He wrote:

IRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE. THANK YOU!

Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, posted on X on Friday that “passage for all commercial vessels through strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire”.

The passage through the strait will be on the coordinated route announced by the Ports and Maritime Organisation of Iran, Araghchi said.

Yvette Cooper, the UK foreign secretary, on Friday called for the Lebanon ceasefire to “open a pathway to a lasting peace”.

“A long-term political settlement, consistent with UN Security Council resolution 1701, is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people,” Cooper said in a statement posted on X.

Pakistan has emerged as an unlikely diplomatic broker between Iran and the US, and Field Marshal Asim Munir is widely seen as a key driving force.

Pakistan’s army chief was one of the few able to get the US and Iranian leadership on the phone, passing along messages as a trusted intermediary to both sides. It is widely acknowledged that the negotiations have been coordinated from Rawalpindi, the seat of the army, rather than Islamabad, the seat of the parliament.

“Field Marshal Munir is the driving force – without him this would not work,” said Maleeha Lodhi, who served as Pakistan’s former ambassador to the UN, US and UK.

“The foreign ministry is just a junior partner. Countries like Iran and the US have this confidence in Asim Munir. Our government ministers are really an adjunct.”

The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, has expressed his hope that the 10-day ceasefire agreed by Israel and Lebanon would serve as a basis for a longer-term solution.

In a post on X, he urged “all parties to ensure full and immediate implementation, in good faith” of the ceasefire, adding:

Meaningful efforts must now focus on a durable political solution that addresses the root causes of the conflict and ensures long-term protection on all sides for civilians, who have borne the brunt of weeks of unrelenting violence, destruction and displacement.

Here some images on the newswires of UK prime minister Keir Starmer being welcomed by French president Emmanuel Macron after he arrived in Paris for a summit on reopening the strait of Hormuz:

Video: celebrations and relief in Lebanon as ceasefire with Israel begins

Celebrations have taken hold across Lebanon after a 10-day truce agreed with Israel began on Friday morning. Celebratory gunfire erupted in Beirut’s southern suburbs, and people beeped their car horns and cheered across the country as they returned to their homes after being displaced by Israeli strikes. While many appeared hopeful, some were still cautious. A man who had returned to his home in Nabatieh said he would be leaving again upon seeing the destruction in the city.

The Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, has described the ceasefire with Israel as a “gateway to proceeding with negotiations”, saying he will prioritise the withdrawal of Israeli troops from occupied territories in southern Lebanon.

In a statement on social media, he said:

Direct negotiations are delicate and crucial; there must be a unified sense of national responsibility in the coming phase, as the eyes of the world are on Lebanon.

The state’s position is to consolidate the ceasefire, ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied southern territories, secure the release of prisoners, and resolve outstanding border disputes.

The ceasefire is the gateway to proceeding with negotiations and is an option that enjoys both domestic and international support.

He continued:

The Lebanese army will play a key role following the withdrawal of Israeli forces, deploying as far as the southern international border, ending armed activities, and reassuring the people of the south upon their return to their villages and towns that there will be no armed forces other than the army and the legitimate security forces.

His statement came moments after the Israeli defence ministry issued remarks by Israel Katz (see previous post) insisting the IDF will not leave areas it occupies in southern Lebanon and that Israel’s remaining missions will be completed, by force if necessary.

Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the Israeli military “holds and will continue to hold” all positions it has “cleared and captured” in Lebanon.

In a statement from his office on the first day of the temporary ceasefire in Lebanon, Katz said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) maintains a strip of land up to 10km (about 6 miles) deep along the border in southern Lebanon, indicating that the IDF would continue demolishing homes in villages he described as having been turned into “terrorist outposts”.

He said Israel’s goals of disarming Hezbollah have not been achieved yet and that an area of southern Lebanon “has not been demilitarised”.

“This would have to be done, either diplomatically or by resuming Israeli military activities at the end of the ceasefire,” he said.

• Thousands of displaced families have begun making their way home to southern Lebanon after a 10-day ceasefire halting Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah was announced. The current bout of fighting, which began on 2 March, has killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million.

• World leaders have welcomed the ceasefire but have expressed caution due to immediate reports of continued military actions. French president Emmanuel Macron called for Hezbollah to “renounce its weapons” and Israel to “respect Lebanese sovereignty and stop the war”. UN chief António Guterres also urged “all actors” to fully respect the truce.

• The Lebanese army reported “a number of violations” of the ceasefire this morning. In a statement it said it renewed its call for people “to refrain from returning to the southern villages and towns” after “a number of Israeli attacks … [and] intermittent shelling affecting a number of villages”. The Israeli military has not commented on the reports.

• The army also said it was working to “fully reopen” the Qasmiyeh-Tyre bridge over the Litani river in southern Lebanon. Images show a queue of cars stretching for miles as they wait to pass through one lane on the bridge after it was damaged by Israeli strikes yesterday. The key crossing links southern cities and villages in Lebanon to the rest of the country.

• Hezbollah warned its fighters “will keep their fingers on the trigger”. The statement by the Iran-backed group did not make a specific reference to the ceasefire but it said it was “ready to defend against the enemy’s treachery and betrayal”.

• Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also threatened it was prepared with its “hand on the trigger” to respond to any US-Israeli “aggression”.In a statement, the IRGC said its fighters “together with the Iranian army” were ready to respond “powerfully, devastatingly, and with crushing force”.

• The Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said talks between Syria and Israel “have not reached a dead end” but were facing “great difficulty” due to what he described as Israel’s insistence on remaining in Syrian territory. Sharaa stressed that Syria was “serious about reaching a security agreement that preserves regional stability”.

• Keir Starmer said he would “do everything I can” to alleviate the economic impact of the Iran war and reopen the strait of Hormuz. The UK prime minister arrived in Paris this morning where France and the UK are chairing a meeting of about 40 countries to draw up an international plan to secure the vital waterway.

UK prime minister Keir Starmer said he would “do everything I can” to alleviate the impact of the Iran war on the public and reopen the strait of Hormuz.

Starmer has arrived in Paris where France and the UK are chairing a meeting of about 40 countries to draw up an international plan to secure the vital waterway.

The PA news agency has reported his remarks to reporters:

It is very important that we build a coalition of countries around the principle that the ceasefire should be permanent, there should be a deal, and that the strait of Hormuz is open.

It is in all of our interests to do that, because what’s happening in the war in Iran is affecting each of our economies.

That’s why countries are coming together. Everybody is clear that in order for that to happen, we need a diplomatic and political limb, we need a logistics and economic limb, and we need some military planning, and that is what we’re coming together to do today.

And it’s the right thing to do, because the longer this conflict goes on, the more the impact, and I’m mindful that people across the United Kingdom, that’s impact on them and the cost of living and I will do everything I can with other countries to alleviate that and get the strait open as soon as possible.

Starmer is also facing questions over his leadership after the Guardian revealed Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting clearance but the decision was overruled by the Foreign Office to ensure he could take up his post as ambassador to the US. You can follow the latest on that over on the UK politics live blog.

Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, has thanked the capital Beirut and northern areas of the country for opening their doors to the displaced, as people uprooted by war began to return to their homes in the south.

In a statement posted on social media, he said: “I take this opportunity, as we are on the first day of the truce coming into effect and the start of the return of residents to their villages and towns, to renew my thanks to the capital, Beirut, which has opened its doors and neighbourhoods, as have the mountains and the north, to the displaced from the south, the suburbs and the Bekaa.”

The UN said more than 1.2 million people – about a fifth of the Lebanese population – have been displaced across Lebanon, many of them from the south after repeated warnings by the Israeli military to flee their homes.