ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Donald Trump on Friday announced the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, set to end an operation that restricted Iranian commercial and maritime traffic for over six weeks.
“Ships caught in the Strait [of Hormuz] due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of ‘heading home!’” Trump posted on Truth Social, emphasizing that the “Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions.”
The decision comes amid intensified diplomatic efforts involving multiple countries aimed at securing a permanent truce between the US and Iran, following a wide-scale US-Israeli aerial campaign that began on February 28 and lasted more than six weeks before a Pakistan-mediated ceasefire on April 8.
Despite the truce, Iran and the US have engaged in tit-for-tat maritime measures in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran tightened its grip on the waterway, while Washington initiated a maritime blockade on Iranian ports since April 13. The US blockade has caused major disruptions to trade and contributed to shortages of raw materials across Iran.
In his post, Trump stated all the remaining water mines placed by Iran during the war should be “terminated” immediately, noting that the US has removed “numerous” ones with underwater mine sweepers by detonating them.
“Iran will complete the immediate removal and/or detonation of any mines that are left, which will not be many!” he said.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Friday its blockade measures in the waterway have redirected 115 commercial vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced Thursday it launched a retaliatory strike against a US airbase in the region following an American attack near the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. The IRGC did not specify which facility was targeted. However, Kuwait’s military announced early Thursday that its air defense systems were actively "confronting hostile missile and drone attacks."
US sources confirmed to Rudaw on Thursday that the US and Iran have agreed to extend a ceasefire and move toward talks on Tehran’s nuclear program under a 60-day memorandum of understanding, though final approval from Trump is still pending.
On Wednesday, Trump said he was not yet “satisfied” with Iran’s proposals, warning that while Tehran “want very much to make a deal,” the US was still evaluating options and could “finish the job” if talks fail.
The Islamabad-brokered truce temporarily halted fighting and opened the door to negotiations, though the first round of talks ended without a final agreement on April 11.