Hormuz open, but only for a while? Iran allows ships to pass through the strait

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi announced on Friday that all commercial ships can pass through the Strait of Hormuz until the end of the truce with the US and Israel. The agreement entered into force on April 8 and is to be valid until Wednesday.

After this announcement, oil prices fell by 10%.

The Strait of Hormuz is a key sea route through which raw materials are exported from the Persian Gulf region. Under normal conditions, 20% of the water flows through this route. oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) consumed in the world.

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Iran virtually blocked the strait after the U.S. and Israeli attack on February 28, allowing only selected ships to pass. The blockade caused oil and gas prices to increase.

The US announced a blockade of Iranian ports on Monday to force Iran to lift restrictions.

Iran has just announced that the Strait of Hormuz is fully open and ready for navigation, wrote US President Donald Trump on Truth Social. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran, Abbas Aragchi, also announced the opening of the strait.

“Iran just announced that the Iran Strait is fully open and ready for full passage. Thank you!” – Trump wrote.

Big trade with Iran. Uranium will leave the country in exchange for billions. Trump: “They agreed to almost everything”

One of the proposals discussed between the US and Iran involves the Americans releasing $20 billion in frozen Iranian assets in exchange for Iran giving up its stocks of enriched uranium, Axios reported on Friday, citing sources.

The US and Iran are negotiating a three-page plan to end the war. As Axios reported, progress has been made in the talks in recent days, but significant differences remain between the parties.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced that American and Iranian negotiators will most likely meet for a second round of talks this weekend to try to reach an agreement. The talks will probably take place on Sunday in Islamabad, the source said. Pakistan plays the role of a mediator in the conflict, while Egypt and Türkiye support the process in the background.

Axios wrote that the priority for the US is to ensure that Iran does not have access to a stockpile of almost 2,000. kg of enriched uranium located underground, including 450 kg of uranium enriched to 60%.

In turn, the Iranians need money, the portal emphasized. So the parties are talking about what will happen to uranium stocks and how many Iranian assets may be unfrozen. The conditions under which Tehran could spend this money are also being discussed.

According to two sources, the US was ready to unfreeze $6 billion at an early stage of negotiations so that Iran could purchase food, medicines and other humanitarian resources. The Iranians, in turn, demanded 27 billion. The latest proposal concerns USD 20 billion and, according to one of the sources, came from the US. The second source said that the solution of unfreezing funds in exchange for uranium stocks is one of the variants discussed.

The Trump administration wants Iran to agree to transport all its nuclear material to the US. The Iranians agreed to dilute uranium in their country.

The compromise proposal under discussion assumes the transport of part of the highly enriched uranium to a third country. Some would be diluted in Iran under international supervision.

The document also includes a “voluntary” moratorium on Iran's uranium enrichment. During the last round of negotiations, the US demanded a 20-year moratorium, and Iran proposed a five-year period.

Talks are also being held about the Strait of Hormuz, but according to sources, the differences between the parties on this issue are still large. It is not known whether the document also concerns Iranian ballistic missiles and Tehran's support for allied forces in Lebanon or Yemen. Israel and Republican hawks in Washington demanded that these topics be included in the negotiations.

Trump on Thursday said Iran had agreed to almost everything, including handing over its nuclear material. He also added that he may fly to Pakistan himself if the agreement is ready. The president assessed that extending the two-week truce, which expires on April 22, would not be necessary, but if no agreement is finally reached, a resumption of fighting is likely.

From Washington Natalia Dziurdzińska (PAP)

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