Trump, Iran say Strait of Hormuz open amid ceasefire tensions

The Strait of Hormuz was back open for commercial traffic Friday, but only under a fragile arrangement that still left Tehran in control of who moved through the Persian Gulf chokepoint and how.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the passage was “completely open” for commercial vessels during the ceasefire period tied to the 10-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Donald Trump also declared the strait open and thanked Tehran for reopening it, saying it was “completely open and ready for business and full passage.” He then added a crucial caveat: the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ships and ports would remain in force until Iran reached a deal with Washington, including on its nuclear program.

Iranian officials said ships would move on routes coordinated by Iranian maritime authorities, not on unrestricted terms. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian parliamentary speaker, publicly disputed Trump’s portrayal, saying the waterway would not remain open if the blockade continued. Kpler tracking showed some tankers and cargo ships tried to leave the waterway but turned back, underscoring how tightly the traffic remained managed.

The stakes are hard to overstate. The Strait of Hormuz carries about 20% of the world’s crude oil on a typical day, making even a temporary change in access a global market event. Traders treated Friday’s announcement that way: oil prices fell 9%, and Wall Street rallied to a record as investors priced in a lower immediate risk to shipping through one of the world’s most important energy corridors.

That market reaction also made the story instantly political in Washington. On CBS News’s The Takeout, Major Garrett’s nightly political news program and interview series, strategists Hannah Muldavin and Kevin Sheridan weighed how quickly a foreign-policy shock can be translated into domestic messaging. The reopening offered Republicans a chance to frame pressure on Iran as a national-security success, while Democrats could point to the economic relief and the dangers of letting a regional crisis dictate fuel costs and campaign talking points.

The ceasefire running through April 21 added to the uncertainty. For now, the strait is open, but the opening is conditional, contested and still vulnerable to the next dispute between Iran, Israel, and Washington.