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20-04-2026
TEHRAN: Speaker of Iran’s parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said that recent claims by US President Donald Trump regarding Iran “were false” and warned that the Strait of Hormuz “will not remain open” if the US blockade of Iranian ports continues.
Trump told media that there were no “sticking points” left for a deal with Iran, while also issuing a series of upbeat messages on social media regarding apparent agreements with Tehran but the US president also stated that the naval blockade would “remain in full force” until “our transaction with Iran is 100% complete”.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open” to all commercial vessels, “in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon” and “on the coordinated route as already announced”.
Trump said Israel was “prohibited” from bombing Lebanon, as the first day of a 10-day ceasefire in the country saw tens of thousands of people return to homes they were forced to flee during weeks of Israeli attacks on the country.
Visit our live tracker for the latest casualty figures from across the region.
US President Donald Trump has claimed that things are “going very well” in talks with Iran but senior officials in Tehran say the US blockade of Iranian ports must end if the Strait of Hormuz is to remain open.
Despite claims by Trump, Tehran has denied agreeing to transport enriched uranium out of the country, saying that is a red line.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said 21 ships attempting to enter or leave Iranian ports have complied with directions from US forces to turn around and return to Iran since the maritime blockade began on April 13.
Abas Aslani, a senior fellow at the Centre for Middle East Strategic Studies in Tehran, said there are “glaring contrasts in the narratives” coming from the US and Iran on talks to end the war.
Ship-tracking site MarineTraffic said a cruise liner, reportedly without passengers, has successfully sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, the first passenger vessel to make it through since the war began.
The Office of the US Chief of Naval Operations said reports of food shortages on board the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and USS Tripoli both deployed in the Middle East are “false”.
Israel’s military prepared for ‘a long stay’ in Lebanon
Abed Abou Shhadeh, a political commentator from Jaffa, Israel, spoke to media earlier about Israel’s ceasefire with Lebanon and the domestic reaction that has emerged.
He said there are two problems with Israel’s long-stated plan to disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“First, they need the Lebanese government’s help with disarming Hezbollah. The other problem is they understand that it won’t happen in a year or two,” Shhadeh told media.
The new Israeli military posts set up during the invasion of southern Lebanon are also unlikely to be temporary, Shhadeh told media.
“That’s a symbol that the Israeli military is preparing itself for a long stay in southern Lebanon,” he said.
He also said that the Israeli public is frustrated by the ceasefire agreement and that protests are being threatened against the temporary truce.
US loans fuel firms 26 million barrels of oil from strategic reserve
The US Department of Energy has loaned 26.03 million more barrels of crude oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve at the West Hackberry site to nine oil companies. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
