Iran war latest: Trump reacts - and oil and gas prices tumble - after Iran reopens Strait of Hormuz
Keir Starmer is in Paris for a meeting about the Strait of Hormuz. But Iran appears to have declared the waterway is "open" - with Donald Trump reacting enthusiastically.
Trump tells NATO to ‘STAY AWAY’ - and says Israel will stop bombing Lebanon
While we were hearing from the four European leaders in Paris, Donald Trump attacked NATO in his latest Truth Social post.
Despite Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron saying the UK and France will lead a defensive and neutral military mission to protect shipping, Trump has dismissed any offer of help from his NATO allies.
“Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help,” the president wrote.
“I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL.
“They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!”
For context: European NATO countries have repeatedly rejected Trump’s call for the alliance to help force open the strait, which Iran effectively closed following the start of the American attack.
The president previously warned NATO would face a “very bad future” if they fail to support US efforts.
Trump tells Israel ‘enough is enough’ on Lebanon
Trump posted his NATO comments after yet another statement on his Truth Social platform, in which Trump declared Israel is “prohibited” from bombing Lebanon.
Donald Trump said the US will “get all Nuclear ‘Dust’” - referring to any debris from American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last year.
“No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form,” he said.
“This deal is in no way subject to Lebanon, either, but the USA will, separately, work with Lebanon, and deal with the Hezboolah (sic) situation in an appropriate manner.”
He added on top of the US dealing with the Iran-backed militia group Hezbollah, Israel “will not be bombing Lebanon any longer” and that “enough is enough”.
Trump has been on an online posting spree - scroll back for our summaries of the others.
Iran’s foreign minister declares Strait of Hormuz ‘completely open’ for rest of ceasefire
Iran’s foreign minister appears to have declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” for the “remaining period of ceasefire”.
Seyed Abbas Aragchi said the move would include the passage of “all commercial vessels” through the strait.
Aragchi’s full post on X says:
“In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran.”
It should be noted, however, that Iran has previously declared the strait is open to nations that liaise with its military.
It is unclear whether the US blockade of Iranian ports remains after Iran’s decision.
Aragchi’s statement comes with Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron co-hosting a virtual meeting about restoring navigation in the strait, with 40 leaders expected to attend today.
Oil and gas prices tumble as Iranians say Strait of Hormuz is open
By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter
As good news goes, the update from a senior Iranian official that the vital oil and gas shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz, is open is about as good as it gets for people wanting fossil fuel flows to resume.
The question remains: how exactly is the recently treacherous passage open all of a sudden?
As has become typical with announcements about shipping and the waterway, the precise details elude us.
But it’s still led to a sharp fall in both oil and UK wholesale gas costs.
A unit of UK wholesale gas is now below 100 pence for the first time in six weeks.
Not since the first days of the war has it been this low.
That impacts the price of fertiliser - and food costs as a result - as well as energy bills.
Meanwhile, the benchmark oil price - a barrel of Brent crude - has tumbled by 10%.
Oil now costs about $89. Just weeks ago, in the midst of the conflict, it had gone as high as $120.
US blockade of Iran will ‘remain in full force’ until peace deal is done, Trump says
Donald Trump has posted again on his Truth Social platform.
This time, he says the US blockade of Iranian ships and ports will “remain in full force”, despite Iran’s announcement that the Strait of Hormuz is reopening to shipping.
Trump says the US blockade will stay until its negotiations with Iran are “100% complete”.
But the US president adds he expects this process to “go very quickly”, as “most of the points are already negotiated”.
Trump’s messages today follow reports yesterday that he was eager to end the war, as political pressure grows on him at home.
While negotiations between Iran and the US broke down last weekend in Islamabad, the two countries are expected to resume talks ahead of the ceasefire expiring on 22 April.
The primary sticking point between the US and Iran is the issue of Tehran’s enrichment of uranium (see post at 9:16am).
Here’s Trump in his own words...
UK and France will lead defensive military mission to protect shipping, Starmer confirms
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says that “as soon as conditions allow”, France and the UK would launch a strictly defensive military mission to “protect freedom of navigation” in the strait.
Starmer says the defensive mission would work to clear mines and protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz area.
He also echoes Emmanuel Macron in his remarks, saying: “The whole world needs to see a solution here.”
The reopening of the crucial waterway has to be based on “both a lasting and a workable proposal”, he says.
Starmer adds:
“Reopening the strait is a global necessity and a global responsibility. We need to act to get global energy and trade flowing freely again, to bring down prices for working people. Our citizens need to see a return to peace and stability and we will play our full part.”
Israel has committed ‘a number of violations’ of the ceasefire, claims Lebanese army
The Lebanese military says it has recorded “several Israeli attacks” and “intermittent shelling targeting a number of villages” in southern Lebanon - just hours after an agreed 10-day ceasefire between the two countries came into effect.
In a statement, the army called on citizens to “exercise caution in returning to the southern villages and towns, amid a number of violations of the agreement”.
The Lebanese army had earlier warned people to avoid returning to areas of southern Lebanon despite the new ceasefire with Israel, according to our US partner network NBC News.
Analysis: Iranian Hormuz opening is a ‘smart move’ - as regime controls the narrative
Iran’s announcement that the Strait of Hormuz is open is just another “smart move” in a war of narratives, according to our analysts.
Tara Kangarlou, a Middle East expert and global affairs journalist, explains:
“Once more, the [Iranian government is] controlling the narrative... and they are claiming a win: that we took the high ground and that we’re allowing others to pass through now.”
To her, this is part of the “war of narratives that has been going on between Donald Trump and the Iranian regime”.
Trump notably pushed back immediately, declaring that the US blockade would remain in place.
“And I believe at the end of this, either side will declare a victory and they will sell it to their base,” she adds.
Iran is ‘good at stringing people along’
Military analyst Michael Clarke says it’s also a “smart move” because it gives Iran “a stake in what’s going on” and “increases the pressure to keep this ceasefire going”.
He says:
“Creating a process of continuing to talk is exactly what the Iranians want. It’s what they’re good at. They’re good at stringing people along, and that undoubtedly would be what they would want to do here, because they’re playing for time.”
At the end of the process, there could be a nuclear deal similar to the one struck by the Obama administration in 2015, Clarke believes.
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