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Iran still has not lifted its blockade and insists there is no clause requiring Tehran to forego costly tolls, according to Iranian media
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Donald Trump vowed to lift the US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and make a “final determination” on Iran on Friday, as the world awaits his decision on a memorandum of understanding hashed out by negotiators to extend the ceasefire and pave the way for nuclear talks.
“Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of “heading home!” Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!” the US president wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social.
Trump said some items have already been agreed, but insisted Iran “must agree” never to have a nuclear weapon, and that the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened without tolls. He said that uranium will be unearthed by the US in coordination with Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog and destroyed.
But Iran’s Fars news agency, citing sources, quickly pushed back on the president’s claims, casting the statement as a “mixture of truth and falsehood” intended “to portray a fabricated victory”.
It said there was no clause in the initial MOU that Iran would have to reopen the Strait without tolls, and no provision about destroying Tehran’s nuclear materials. Iran would reopen the waterway according to its own pre-determined arrangements, it said.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi says he held a productive call with Oman’s foreign minister and expressed Iran’s solidarity “in the face of any threat”.
“We discussed Hormuz and its future administration in line with our sovereign responsibilities and international law. We welcome consultation with all neighbouring states,” he said.
Donald Trump this week threatened to “blow up” Oman if it didn’t bow to his wishes around control of the Strait of Hormuz, when asked about a potential short-term deal that would allow for shared control of the waterway between Iran and Oman.
A “political understanding” between the US and Iran has been reached, but no deal has been finalised, a source has said.
Speaking to Reuters, the source said the possible memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran does not involve any nuclear-related issues.
Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the Israeli military to seize 70 per cent of the Gaza Strip in a move threatening the fragile ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Speaking at a conference on Thursday, the prime minister said Israel was “squeezing” Hamas, having taken control of more than 60 per cent of the Palestinian enclave.
“We were at 50. We moved to 60. my directive is to move to…” he began, before someone in the crowd said, “100”.
“Let’s go step by step,” Netanyahu continued. “First of all 70. Let’s start with that. we’re pressing them from all sides. We’ll deal with the remnants.”
Iranian officials are viewing comments by Donald Trump regarding a possible agreement with Tehran as “a mixture of truth and falsehood”, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported on Friday, citing informed sources.
A memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States was still in the final stages of ratification in Iran, and no final decision had yet been made, the sources said.
Iran’s Fars news agency is quoting sources shooting down Trump’s claims on the terms of the memorandum of understanding.
They say:
– The deal is in the final stages of ratification and has not been agreed
– Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz according to its own pre-determined arrangement
– There is no clause in the MOU forbidding Iran from charging fees to pass the Strait of Hormuz
– There is no provision for Iran to destroy its nuclear materials
– The MOU does include an immediate payment of $12bn from Iran’s frozen assets
– It also includes a complete ceasefire in Lebanon
Top Iranian officials named in negotiations are yet to comment.
President Donald Trump says he is meeting with aides “to make a final determination” on whether to accept a proposed agreement to end the war he started with Iran three months ago and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to global maritime traffic.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports would end and Iran would “complete the immediate removal and/or detonation of any mines” in the key waterway so that the strait would be “immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic” to allow hundreds of ships that have been trapped on the wrong end of the strait to “start the process of ‘heading home!’”
“Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President,” he said.
Andrew Feinberg reports:
Iran’s Fars news agency, citing sources, says that Tehran rejects Trump’s comments about a possible agreement with Iran as a “mixture of truth and falsehood”.
It says the agreement with the US is in the final stages of ratification but a final decision has not yet been made.
Trump’s comments are an “attempt to portray a fabricated victory”, the agency reports, citing sources.
It continues that there is no clause to the effect of Iran having to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without charging fees. Neither is there a provision about destroying Tehran’s nuclear materials in the MOU, it reports.
Kazakhstan has signalled it is willing to take Tehran’s stockpile of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels if the U.S. reaches a deal with Iran over its nuclear programme, the head of UN’s nuclear watchdog told the Financial Times.
The central Asian state expressed its openness to keeping the stockpile when Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi in Astana this week, Grossi told the newspaper in an interview published on Friday.
Kazakhstan hosts an internationally-controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure fuel supplies for power stations in IAEA member states and prevent nuclear proliferation. The storage facility was opened in 2017 in collaboration with the IAEA.
Eleven children have been killed or injured on average every 24 hours in Lebanon over the last week, the UN’s children’s agency said on Friday, as Israel has expanded strikes across the country despite a ceasefire.
Heavy Israeli strikes hit towns and villages in southern Lebanon overnight on Wednesday and into Thursday, after Israel declared a new swathe of the area a combat zone. It also struck a building in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday.
A total of 77 children have been killed or injured in the last seven days, UNICEF said, citing figures provided by Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health. Since the ceasefire began on April 16, 55 children have been killed and 212 injured, according to the agency.
UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires called for all parties to fully respect the ceasefire.
“Under international humanitarian law, children and civilian infrastructure must be protected,” he said.
Oil and gas giant Chevron has said it will not pay a transit toll for its vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to CEO Mike Wirth. Speaking to Bloomberg TV on Friday, Wirth highlighted that several ships navigating the crucial waterway have recently come under attack, describing “multiple incidents,” though not necessarily daily occurrences.
Chevron currently has six vessels operating under charter in the Strait, all of which belong to third-party owners.
Wirth clarified that the decision to traverse the strait ultimately rests with these ship owners.
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