President Trump and the Iranian foreign minister announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz had reopened, raising hopes that the warring nations were cooperating and negotiating toward a peace deal.
The proclamations, made on social media by both sides, propelled U.S. stock markets to record highs and sent oil prices tumbling more than 10 percent.
But the picture was muddied when Mr. Trump said that a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports would remain in “FULL FORCE” until there was a peace deal.
As the day wore on, Mr. Trump appeared to be negotiating a peace agreement publicly, in real time, through interviews and social media posts. He spoke of several points as fait accompli even though Iran has not publicly agreed to them.
He told Bloomberg News that Iran had agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely and that Tehran would not receive any frozen assets from the United States.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse, the president said there were “no sticking points” with Iran.
In a brief phone interview with Axios, Mr. Trump said he expected a deal “in the next day or two.” And he told CBS News that Iran had “agreed to everything.”
The agreement would allow the United States to retrieve Iran’s nuclear material, he said.
“Our people, together with the Iranians, are going to work together to go get it,” he told CBS. “And then we’ll take it to the United States.”
But in comments to Iranian state media, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said Tehran had rejected the option of transferring its enriched uranium stockpile abroad.
The sum total of Mr. Trump’s disparate statements and those by Iranian officials amounted to dizzying but hopeful signs that an end to the war might be in reach.
“A GREAT AND BRILLIANT DAY FOR THE WORLD!” Mr. Trump wrote in his series of social media posts filled with exclamation points and all-caps messages. He thanked “fantastic” Pakistani mediators and Gulf states for their “great bravery.”
Three senior Iranian officials echoed Mr. Trump’s optimism, saying that Iran and the United States were finalizing a three-page memorandum of understanding that outlined a broad framework for a lasting peace deal.
The memorandum defines a 60-day period for negotiations to continue toward a deal, they said, adding that the memorandum could be signed when the United States and Iran convene for a second round of talks in Pakistan, expected to be in the next few days. A marathon first round of talks last weekend ended without agreement.
Amid the hopes for a peace agreement, there were also striking public signs of dissension among Iranian leaders.
Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said in a post on X that “the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of the ceasefire.”
The opening of the strait, he said, was “in line with the cease-fire in Lebanon,” the truce that Mr. Trump announced on Thursday that quelled fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah.
But a few hours after Mr. Araghchi’s announcement, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, described the foreign minister’s social media post as “bad and incomplete.”
A statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps navy commander said a “new order” had been established over the strait, but that passage would be contingent on permission from the navy. The statement also said that no military vessels would be allowed to pass the strait and that the agreement was in line with the cease-fire.
The resumption of maritime traffic in the strait is crucial for the global economy, especially countries in Asia that have been cut off from a large share of their energy supplies.
Before the war, around 130 ships a day passed through the strait, using two main lanes. To maximize the flow of tankers through the waterway, shipping analysts said vessels would have to return to those lanes. But shipowners say they must be certain that they are free of mines.
According to U.S. officials, Iran had not been able to locate all of the mines it laid in the strait and lacked the capability to remove them.
On Friday, Mr. Trump said on social media that, with the help of the United States, Iran “has removed, or is removing, all sea mines!”
European leaders meeting in Paris on Friday discussed plans for an international mission to restore maritime security. Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said the mission would be deployed “as soon as conditions allow.”
The meeting was hosted by President Emmanuel Macron of France and joined by Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy. Leaders from 48 countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East joined by teleconference.
The progress toward reopening the waterway on Friday came after Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day cease-fire the day before. The deal, brokered by President Trump, remains fragile but prompted celebrations across Lebanon. Thousands of displaced families clogged roads as they returned home, many weighed down by piles of personal possessions.
They drove across a landscape devastated by war. Israel bombed all the main bridges linking northern and southern Lebanon across the Litani River, forcing cars to snake in a single file along a makeshift dirt crossing.
In one of his Friday social media posts, Mr. Trump issued a stern admonition to Israel, which has been locked in a bloody conflict with Hezbollah since the early days of the war with Iran.
“Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer,” Mr. Trump wrote. “They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!”
Reporting was contributed by Michael Crowley, Eric Schmitt, Mark Landler, Jenny Gross and Rebecca F. Elliott.
Farnaz Fassihi is the United Nations bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the organization. She also covers Iran and has written about conflict in the Middle East for 15 years.
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