Iran live updates: Iran fully opens Strait of Hormuz, Trump says
All commercial vessels will be allowed to pass through the strait.
Last updated: Friday, April 17, 2026 4:57PM GMT
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military and government sites.
After negotiations, U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan failed to reach a peace deal. Trump said that Iran's nuclear program was the key sticking point, and said the U.S. would respond with a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz starting at 10 a.m. ET on Monday.
Iran announced it would fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, but Trump said the blockade will remain in place until the U.S.'s "transaction" with Iran is complete.
Israel, meanwhile, has reached a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, ending its ground operations and intense strikes, where it was engaged with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supported the ceasefire with Iran.
Despite Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. blockade on Iran will remain in effect.
The blockade will remain "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," Trump wrote in a post on social media.
3 hours and 18 minutes ago
Iran fully opens Strait of Hormuz, Trump says
President Donald Trump has announced that Iran is fully opening the Strait of Hormuz, in a post on social media.
"IRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE," Trump said in a post on social media Friday.
Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also announced the strait's opening on social media Friday.
"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," Araghchi wrote.
11:10 AM GMT
Thousands return to southern Lebanon, buoyed by ceasefire, as Israel issues warning
Tens of thousands of displaced Lebanese people were moving south on Friday, following the announcement of a 10-day ceasefire, headed back toward the homes they abandoned even as Israel issued new warnings.
Debris of a destroyed building are scattered after an Israeli airstrike in Kfar Roumman, southern Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026.
"Out of concern for your safety and the safety of your families' members -- until further notice -- you are requested not to move south of the Litani River," Avichay Adraee, an Arab-language spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said in a social media post.
Israel's air raids and ground operations against Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon pushed many locals north in recent weeks.
Israeli prior to the ceasefire had warned anyone south of the Litani River, a geographic boundary between southern and northern Lebanon, that they should move north for their safety.
Israel said its operations targeted members and infrastructure belonging Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, both in southern Lebanon and in the suburbs of Beirut.
President Donald Trump said a ceasefire would begin at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, news that followed talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials in Washington earlier in the week.
Apr 16, 2026, 7:34 PM GMT
US is 'very close' to deal with Iran, Trump says
President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House that the U.S. is "very close" to a deal with Iran.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Washington.
Negotiators led by Vice President JD Vance met with Iranian leadership Pakistan last weekend for direct negotiations to end the war, but they did not reach an agreement.