Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps joint military command said Saturday that control of the Strait of Hormuz has “returned to its previous state” and the waterway is “under strict management and control by the armed forces,” and that restrictions will remain until the U.S. fully lifts its blockade of Iranian ports. The declaration followed days of shifting signals: Iran earlier said the strait was open to commercial ships after a temporary Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, while the U.S. maintained a naval blockade on Iran.
President Donald Trump, returning from a rally in Phoenix, told reporters Friday that the blockade would remain even if commercial passage resumed and warned that the current ceasefire might not be extended. Asked what he would do if no deal is reached before the truce expires next week, Trump said, “I don’t know. Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade is going to remain. But maybe I won’t extend it, so you’ll have a blockade and unfortunately we’ll have to start dropping bombs again.” He also said Iran was removing “all sea mines,” with U.S. assistance, a reference to mines placed in the strait.
The flurry of announcements came largely via social media. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said commercially coordinated passage through the Hormuz was “completely open” along a route Iran had indicated. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman warned that if the naval blockade continues, Tehran would take reciprocal measures. Trump posted that the strait was “completely open and ready for business,” but reiterated the U.S. 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.”
Markets reacted: oil prices fell and global stock indexes rose on the news that commercial shipping might resume through the narrow chokepoint that normally carries about 20% of the world’s crude and natural gas.
World leaders urged restraint as a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold. Trump called the pause a “historic day” for Lebanon and later publicly pressed Israel to honor the agreement, saying “Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the truce could open the door to broader talks but insisted Israel would not withdraw from an expanded, roughly 10-kilometer security buffer in southern Lebanon and tied any negotiations to Hezbollah’s disarmament.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the ceasefire and urged full respect for it, expressing hope it could lead to longer-term negotiations. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, credited with helping mediate the U.S.-Iran truce, also welcomed the agreement and called it a step toward “sustainable peace,” reaffirming Pakistan’s support for Lebanon’s sovereignty. Trump said he planned to invite Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House for talks.
Despite the ceasefire, many displaced Lebanese began returning home Friday to assess damage, even as Hezbollah, Lebanese officials and the Israeli military warned residents not to return until the security situation is clearer. The war has displaced roughly 1.2 million people in Lebanon, and Lebanese officials say more than 40,000 homes in southern Lebanon have been destroyed as Israeli forces created and expanded a security buffer zone. Hezbollah urged displaced people to wait before returning and said any ceasefire must apply across Lebanon; it warned that continued Israeli presence would leave Lebanon with the right to resist depending on how events evolve.
Hezbollah operates both as a political party with seats in Lebanon’s parliament and as a militia that largely acts independently of the Lebanese government and receives support from Iran. Lebanon’s government has sought a ceasefire as a precursor to broader diplomatic talks with Israel, a move Hezbollah opposes.
In Paris, European leaders gathered for a summit focused on restoring long-term security and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who hosted the meeting, welcomed news the strait was open to commercial traffic but said a durable, workable solution was needed. Leaders from dozens of countries, including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Germany’s Friedrich Merz, attended.
Starmer said attendees agreed the strait should be open without tolls or restrictions. Macron described proposed measures as “strictly defensive,” including demining the route, intelligence sharing, naval escorts and efforts to prevent Iran from charging passage fees. The United States did not take part in the talks, and Trump has criticized some European reluctance to engage more directly in the conflict with Iran.
The war’s disruption has had wide economic consequences. Gulf energy infrastructure damage and Iran’s temporary closure of the strait choked oil and gas flows, and retaliatory strikes on regional refineries worsened supply concerns. The International Monetary Fund said Iran, Iraq and Qatar are among the hardest-hit economies: it projected roughly a 9% contraction in Qatar’s economy this year because of a suspension of gas production, a 6% shrinkage for Iran, and nearly a 7% contraction for Iraq. Those projections assume the current ceasefire holds and energy production returns to normal by June. The IMF also noted that energy importers in the region—Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Pakistan—face higher costs from soaring oil and gas prices, widening fiscal deficits. The U.S. Treasury, meanwhile, extended a pause on sanctions affecting Russian oil shipments to help ease shortages linked to the Iran war, a reversal from earlier statements by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
As the ceasefire’s deadline approaches, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and across the region remains unsettled. Iran’s insistence on restrictions tied to a lifted blockade, U.S. determination to keep pressure on Tehran, and fragile agreements between Israel and Lebanese actors leave the future of shipping, energy markets and regional stability uncertain.