Trump announces lifting of blockade on Strait of Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he is making a “final” decision on whether to approve a peace deal with Iran, while also announcing the lifting of the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.

“I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination,” Trump said in a lengthy social media post, stressing that Iran must agree never to have nuclear weapons and to open the Hormuz shipping lanes.

In the post, Trump said that Iran “will complete the immediate removal” of mines in the Strait of Hormuz and that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports “will now be lifted,” allowing oil and other tankers to start moving.

However, it was not clear if Iran had agreed to this or whether the US blockade had actually been lifted ahead of Trump making his decision.

Trump also specified that enriched uranium stockpiles in Iran “will be unearthed by the United States… in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED.”

Following reports that Iran has demanded financial compensation for the war and that the White House has floated the idea of investments, Trump said “no money will be exchanged, until further notice.”

The US president added that only “items, of far less importance, have been agreed to.”