Vance says US has lifted
Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP/TT

Vance says US has lifted the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz

The US has lifted its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz - the sea route to and from Iranian ports is reportedly free, US Vice President J.D. Vance said. Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei says in a statement that Trump made the deal with Iran "out of desperation."

In a statement read on Iranian state television, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei commented for the first time on the deal reached between the US and Iran:

Responsible officials... have made extensive efforts - and of course it was the American president who, in desperation, used every form of pressure to achieve this.

Khamenei accepts continued negotiations with the US but says Iran will in no way accept the "enemy's position," reports the BBC.

Free passage through Hormuz

The vice president confirmed that the US Navy has lifted its blockade on oil and merchant ships heading to and from Iranian ports. Further negotiations with Iran are expected to result in a more detailed agreement on the regulations for the strait in the Persian Gulf. Such a vital sea route "should never be used as a stranglehold on the global economy ever again," said JD Vance.

We believe that international sea routes should be free of tariffs.

Iran says it is establishing an authority, PGSA (Iran's Persian Gulf Waterway Management Authority), which will control traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and that some form of fee for passing ships will begin to be collected in 60 days, reports CNN.

Vance defends the deal reached between Iran and the United States and says that the US Congress will be informed shortly.

Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized the Trump administration for its handling and content of the deal. Like President Donald Trump, Vance played down the criticism.

"We plan to notify Congress very soon," Vance said.

Pressed Netanyahu's ministers

The vice president urged critical ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government coalition to "respect this peace process."

If I were in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not have given up on the only powerful ally in the whole world that I have left.

One of the stated goals of the US and Israel in the war against Iran was to destroy the country's missile arsenal. On Thursday, JD Vance argued for Iran's right to a limited number of ballistic missiles.

It is not possible to tell a country, whether it is Israel or Iran, that it does not have the right to some kind of self-defence.

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AuthorTT News AgencyEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers
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