“In line with the ceasefire, the Strait of Hormuz is open for passage in a coordinated route for all commercial vessels as long as the ceasefire is in effect,” Araghchi writes.
However, Iran will continue to stop military ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the military said on Iranian state television.
Iran has previously demanded that the war in Lebanon be included in the ceasefire, and that a ceasefire in Lebanon is a requirement for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi's statement comes the day after a ten-day ceasefire in Lebanon came into effect.
The US blockade continues
US President Donald Trump has welcomed the news of the strait being opened in several posts and thanked Iran on his platform. He also claims that Iran "has agreed to never again close the Strait of Hormuz. It will never again be used as a weapon against the rest of the world," he writes on Truth Social.
But he also writes in a later post that the US's ongoing blockade against all maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman remains in effect - which has led Iran to threaten to close the Strait of Hormuz again.
If the blockade is not lifted, the strait will be closed, an Iranian government source told the state-run Iranian news agency Fars, Reuters reports.
Just over an hour before the announcement, data from the analysis firm Kpler showed that at least three Iranian oil tankers had left the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports. This is the first time Iranian ships have done so since the US imposed its naval blockade in the area. The ships are said to have been loaded with oil on Iran's oil island of Kharg between April 2 and 9.
Mined strait
Since the Iran-Iraq war broke out on February 28, Tehran has been restricting traffic in the strait, which is so important for world trade. Among other things, 20 percent of global oil and gas trade passes through it from the Persian Gulf.
However, it remains to be seen how quickly traffic through the Strait of Hormuz can return to something approaching normal. Iran has previously threatened to mine parts of the Persian Gulf, and The New York Times, citing US military sources, has stated that the Strait of Hormuz is mined. Araghchi also writes in his post that the ships that pass through will do so via a coordinated route.
Trump also comments on this on Truth Social, where he claims that Iran, with American help, is in the process of clearing the strait of mines.
