Strait of Hormuz reopens as U.S.-Iran peace talks progress
Iran announced Friday it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz for the duration of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The waterway for global energy supplies, which has been shut since the U.S. and Israel started bombing Iran at the end of February, is now “completely open” for commercial shipping, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X.
President Donald Trump responded on X, saying “IRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE. THANK YOU!”
Trump added that “the Strait of Hormuz is completely open and ready for business and full passage, but the naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete. This process should go very quickly in that most of the points are already negotiated.”
The U.S. and Iran are negotiating a three-page plan to end the war as it approaches the 50-day mark, with discussions centered on the U.S. releasing $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds in exchange for Iran surrendering its stockpile of enriched uranium, according to Axios, citing two U.S. officials and two sources briefed on the talks.
Trump said Thursday that U.S. and Iranian negotiators would likely meet this weekend for a second round of talks. The discussions are expected to take place in Islamabad on Sunday, according to a source familiar with the mediation efforts. Pakistan is mediating the negotiations with support from Egypt and Turkey.
The U.S. initially proposed releasing $6 billion for Iran to purchase food, medicine and humanitarian supplies, while Iran demanded $27 billion, according to two sources cited by Axios. The latest figure under discussion is $20 billion, which one U.S. official described as a U.S. proposal.
The parties are negotiating what will happen to Iran’s stockpile of nearly 2,000kg of enriched uranium, including 450kg enriched to 60% purity. Under a compromise proposal, some of the highly enriched uranium would be shipped to a third country, while some would be down-blended in Iran under international monitoring, according to the sources.
The memorandum of understanding also includes a voluntary moratorium on nuclear enrichment by Iran. The U.S. requested a 20-year moratorium, while Iran countered with five years.
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