Oil tankers pass through Strait of Hormuz as peace deal ‘close’: live

The Strait of Hormuz has again been closed to international shipping, Iran has said.

State broadcaster IRIB confirmed in the last few minutes the shipping route, which sees 20 per cent of global oil and gas pass through it each year, is ‘closed’ and any passage requires approval from Tehran.

Iran had earlier allowed a convoy of ships to pass for the first time since the outbreak of the conflict.

But after it became clear the US was continuing a blockade against Iranian ships, Tehran has once again implemented the closure, a spokesperson said.

For this reason, control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state, and this strategic strait is under the strict management and control of the armed forces.

As long as the United States does not end the complete freedom of passage of vessels from Iran to destination and from destination to Iran, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will remain under strict control and in its previous state.

President Donald Trump has asked if Americans are ‘sick of winning’ after the US declared ‘victory’ over Iran.

Sharing a clip of himself at a rally, in which he spoke about winning, he wrote: ‘ANYONE SICK OF WINNING YET?’

Earlier, he had described the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as a ‘great victory’ in a phone call with USA Today and declared the dispute over the shipping lane to be ‘over’.

Overnight Trump shared a series of posts about the strait in which he claimed China’s President Xi was also ‘very happy’ about the development.

The US and Iran have claimed contradictory stances on the key sticking point in talks to achieve a long-lasting peace deal – Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Differences remain over the issue, with Iran defending its right to what it says is a civilian nuclear energy program.

Yesterday, President Trump said that Iran has agreed to the removal of its stockpiles of enriched uranium.

But Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told state TV the material would not be transferred anywhere.

Speaking on Air Force One overnight, President Trump told reporters:

We’re negotiating over the weekend. I expect things to go well. Many of these things have been negotiated and agreed to.

The main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. You cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon, and that supersedes everything else.

Iran’s military has claimed that the Strait of Hormuz has ‘returned to its previous state’ of ‘strict control’ due to the US continuing to turn around ships leaving its ports.

In a statement, a spokesperson said:

The Islamic Republic of Iran, following previous agreements in negotiations, has agreed in good faith to the managed passage of a limited number of oil tankers and commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Unfortunately, the Americans… continue… the so-called blockade.

For this reason, control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state, and this strategic strait is under the strict management and control of the armed forces.

As long as the United States does not end the complete freedom of passage of vessels from Iran to destination and from destination to Iran, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will remain under strict control and in its previous state.

It is not immediately clear if this means the strait is now closed to all traffic.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has said the Strait of Hormuz had yet to return to normal operations despite a ceasefire in the Iran war.

Earlier, traffic map data showed the first convoy of ships appearing to pass through the strait since the beginning of the conflict.

At a diplomacy forum in Antalya, Turkey, Cooper urged Tehran to allow global shipping to resume fully.

We are at a critical diplomatic moment with a ceasefire now in place … but we don’t yet have normal passage through the strait.

She said the truce needed to develop into a lasting peace, adding that restoring shipping through the waterway was urgent for the global economy.

Transatlantic relations between Britain and the US are in the middle of an ‘extraordinary moment’, the UK’s ambassador in Washington has said, amid heightened tensions over the Iran war.

Speaking at an event in Washington against a backdrop of fierce criticism of Sir Keir Starmer by President Trump, Sir Christian Turner argued the long-standing partnership was pragmatic rather than one of nostalgia, to the benefit of both countries.

He said:

We’re in the middle of this extraordinary moment, geopolitically, geoeconomically, and indeed for the transatlantic relationship.

It is, of course, all relative – 250 years ago we had a small disagreement. We were in the midst of a dispute back then.

To our credit, we’ve only tried to burn down the White House once since, and what began in that moment of tension has been forged into one of the deepest and closest alliances in history.”

I like to think it’s a pragmatic partnership. It’s not one based in backwards looking and nostalgia.

It’s looking forwards as it really secures security and prosperity for both Britons and Americans alike.

For the first time since the outbreak of the conflict between the US and Israel and Iran back in February, Tehran has announced a partial reopening of the country’s airspace.

It said international flights would be permitted to cross the eastern part of the country.

‘Air routes in the eastern section of the country’s airspace are open for international flights transiting through Iran,’ the country’s Civil Aviation Authority said.

Some airports also reopened at 7:00am local time (0330 GMT).

Lebanon has proven to be the crucial element to securing renewed passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah enters its second day.

There was initial confusion when the ceasefire with Iran came into force, with Tehran insisting the agreement included Lebanon, while the US and Israel said it didn’t.

Now that a temporary end to the fighting has been enacted in the country, Iran has finally declared the Strait of Hormuz ‘completely open’.

It has pointed directly to the agreement in Lebanon for the end to its blockade, although says a similar move by the US to stop Iranian vessels travelling through the shipping lane must end.

US President Donald Trump claims Iran has agreed to ‘never’ block the route again, although Iran disputes this.

Donald Trump ridiculed as ‘useless’ a planned British-led military taskforce to patrol the Strait of Hormuz.

As Iran declared the waterway ‘completely open’, Sir Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron on Friday said they would send warships to keep it safe.

But while the US President welcomed Tehran’s announcement, he mocked NATO countries offering to send military assets.

He wrote: ‘Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL. They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!’

It came as 49 leaders, including Sir Keir and Macron, held a summit in Paris on Friday to discuss how to re-open the strait.

The Strait of Hormuz might have been declared ‘completely open’, but the situation remains fragile amid an ongoing blockade of Iranian vessels by US troops.

Iran warned that if US warships intercept vessels coming from Iranian ports, the key global trade artery through which about a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes could be closed again.

‘With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open,’ parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X, adding that passage through the waterway would require authorization from Iran.

According to the latest data, the US has turned around 21 ships since Monday.

President Donald Trump has said that the blockade will continue until a full peace deal is reached.

Iran has attempted to impose conditions on ships that are now travelling through the strait, including taking only pre-approved routes.

A convoy of oil tankers has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, vessel tracking data shows, after Iran declared the waterway ‘completely open’.

But Tehran warned it could shut the Strait of Hormuz again if the United States continues its blockade of Iranian ports, raising fresh fears over the vital global trade route.

MarineTraffic data showed several vessels moving through the channel, including tankers carrying oil, liquefied petroleum gas and chemicals.

The potential resumption of transit had lifted stock markets on Friday and prompted optimism in Washington, with President Donald Trump saying a broader US-Iran peace deal was ‘very close’.