President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US would work alongside Iran, using “a lot of excavators” to recover Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium and bring it to the United States. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, however, reiterated that Iran would not give up the stockpile, which he described as “as sacred as Iranian soil.” Tehran maintains it is not seeking nuclear weapons, a claim disputed by the US and Israel.
The US and Iran continue behind-the-scenes talks as the two-week ceasefire is set to expire next week.
The situation remains tense in the Strait of Hormuz, where some ships have been able to pass after Iran announced it would reopen the strategic shipping route to all commercial vessels. However, most tankers and cargo ships attempting to cross have suddenly turned back, according to maritime tracking services.
Iranian parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf later clarified that the strait would “not remain open” as long as the US continues its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
A 10-day ceasefire entered into force in Lebanon on Friday following several weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that claimed more than 2,000 lives in the country.
Here are the latest developments:
• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open” to commercial vessels for the remainder of the ceasefire, which is due to expire on Tuesday
• Trump thanked Tehran and said the strait is “open and ready for business,” but added that the US naval blockade on Iran “remains in full force” until a deal is “100% complete”
• Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) warned the US and Israel they will face a “regret-inducing” response if attacks continue
• At least 2,196 people have been killed and 1.2 million displaced in Lebanon amid Israeli airstrikes and evacuation orders to expand a “security zone”
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
18 April 2026
Iran told mediators it would continue to limit the number of ships allowed to cross the Strait of Hormuz and charge tolls for the remainder of the ceasefire, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.
17 April 2026
Most ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz have been turning back, according to recent data from maritime tracking services.
Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler, told CNBC that several tankers and cargo ships attempted to exit via the route designated by Iran around Larak Island but then suddenly reversed course.
US President Donald Trump reiterated his intention to seize Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. Speaking at a Turning Point USA conference in Phoenix, Arizona, he said the US would use “lots of excavators” to recover the radioactive material.
“But we’re going to go in together with Iran. We’re going to get it. We’re going to take it back home to the USA very soon,” he said.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Tehran’s delegation in talks with the US, said the Strait of Hormuz “would not remain open” as long as Washington continues to blockade Iran’s ports.
“Passage through the strait will be conducted along designated routes and with Iranian authorization,” he added.
Ghalibaf’s statement appears to contradict US President Donald Trump, who said earlier that Iran had agreed to reopen the vital shipping route.
The IMF has said that “oil‑producing countries in the Americas are benefiting from high energy prices,” but warned that in other countries the Middle East conflict is having “clearly negative” effects on economic activity and living standards, particularly for heavily indebted net energy importers.
IRGC spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari has said Iran “has not pursued nuclear weapons and is not pursuing them,” adding that the country “seeks peace with dignity” and will “firmly defend our territorial integrity and principles.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has reportedly rejected Trump’s claim that Tehran agreed to send its enriched uranium to the US. “Enriched uranium is as sacred to us as Iranian soil and will not be transferred anywhere under any circumstances,” he said, as quoted by Tasnim news agency.
Journalist and international relations expert Elham Abedini has told RT that “Iran is the only actor, the only power who can guarantee the security and stability” of the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that any US effort to “open” the waterway by force would only work in the short term and further raise energy prices.
Abedini said recent ship movements “with the permission of Iran and with the conditions of Iran” show who really controls the strait, adding that “even traditional US allies” are refusing to join a “military coalition” against Tehran and that it would be “more logical” for companies to pay tolls to Iran than rely on Western naval pressure.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has released footage it says shows US forces enforcing the naval blockade, stating on X the operation is ongoing.
The Trump administration is weighing a “renewed diplomatic push” that could send senior US officials back to Pakistan within days to resume talks with Iran, CBS has reported, citing sources familiar with the deliberations. Vice President J.D. Vance is reportedly being considered for a return trip to Islamabad, possibly alongside Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, as Washington seeks to revive back‑channel negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program and conditions for ending the war that was launched by the US and Israel in late February.
University of Tehran Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi has told RT that “everything that Trump says is contradictory and often fake news,” arguing that the US troop buildup means “a high probability of war” despite the partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Marandi warned that limited ship movements “will not be enough to meet demand” and said Iran is preparing “24 hours a day” for a potential US offensive, adding that any major conflict would destroy Persian Gulf energy infrastructure and trigger a “global economic depression.”
Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev has mocked the announced “joint plan” by the UK and France to “protect freedom of navigation.” Responding to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s post on X, Dmitriev wrote that they are “bravely rushing in to open the Strait just as soon as it’s already open,” calling it an “impeccable sense of timing.”
MarineTraffic has published updated playback video showing ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz on April 17 up to 15:00 GMT, illustrating vessel movements in the strategic waterway.
A full recovery of Middle East oil output could take months “once the Strait of Hormuz remains open,” with field restarts taking up to seven months, S&P Global has estimated. The firm said around 14.2 million bpd of supply has been disrupted by the Iran war and that OPEC’s March output fell to its lowest level since 1989.
Iranian MP Mahmoud Nabavian, a member of the Islamabad delegation, has said that some commercial ships will be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz “upon payment of tolls,” while dismissing Trump’s declared naval blockade as “a joke.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that West Jerusalem has achieved “tremendous accomplishments” against Hezbollah in Lebanon but insisted that “we have not yet finished the job,” saying further action is planned despite the temporary ceasefire.
More than 10,000 US sailors, marines, and airmen “are enforcing the naval blockade on ships attempting to enter or leave Iranian ports and coastal areas,” US Central Command has said, posting what appears to be a photo of an F/A‑18E Super Hornet on the deck of a US aircraft carrier in the region.
The Malta‑flagged cruise ship Celestyal Discovery has become the first passenger vessel to transit the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war began, MarineTraffic has reported. The ship departed Dubai on April 17 after about 47 days in port and crossed the strait without passengers, according to the tracking service.
Iran’s IRGC Navy has said civilian vessels may only transit the strait under its supervision and in coordination with Iranian forces, and will be allowed to pass in line with regulations set by Tehran while the ceasefire holds.
Trump has reportedly told Reuters that the US will work with Iran “at a nice leisurely pace” to recover enriched uranium and “bring it back to the United States,” adding that Washington will maintain its naval blockade until a final deal is reached.
Crude prices have continued to slide, with benchmark Brent briefly falling below $87 per barrel on the ICE exchange in London for the first time since March 11, according to trading data.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Berlin is “willing to make a contribution to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” provided there is a “strong legal basis” such as a UN Security Council mandate. Merz added that any German role could include mine-clearance operations as part of what he described as an “international mission,” and said Berlin would “like to ensure participation by the United States.”
French President Emmanuel Macron has said Paris and the UK will set up a “neutral mission to secure merchant shipping” in the Gulf, using existing French naval assets in the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea and coordinating closely with the US and Israel.
Trump has again lashed out at NATO, calling the military bloc a “paper tiger.” In a Truth Social post, he wrote that “now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over” he received a call from European NATO members “asking if we would need some help.”
“I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL. They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!” Trump wrote.
The US president has for weeks criticized European NATO allies for their reluctance to join the US-Israeli war against Iran and has repeatedly signaled that Washington could withdraw from the bloc.
Iran will again close the Strait of Hormuz if the US continues its naval blockade, Tasnim has reported, citing a source in the country’s Supreme National Security Council. Any such move would be treated as a ceasefire “violation,” the news agency said.
Ahmed Khuzaie, a political consultant at Khuzaie Associates, said the current situation remains fragile, warning that no outcome can be assured until a final agreement is reached and formally signed.
He added that without a concrete deal, there is a risk the situation could re-escalate.
Watch more in his interview.
The US and Iran are discussing a plan under which Washington would release around $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds in exchange for Tehran reducing its enriched uranium stockpile, Axios has reported.
The three‑page draft memorandum reportedly also includes a “voluntary” moratorium on enrichment and provisions for some nuclear material to be shipped abroad or down‑blended under monitoring.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has stated on X that repeated US and Israeli breaches of commitments remain the main obstacle to lasting regional peace. He warned any ceasefire would be treated “with caution,” vowing Tehran would stand with the “Axis of Resistance” until “complete victory.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged the belligerents to use the ceasefire as an opportunity “to establish lasting peace.” “No matter how deep the disagreements may be, we must not allow words to be replaced again by weapons,” he said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned that it is ready to deliver a “regret-inducing” response to the US and Israel if they continue their attacks.
Three loaded Iranian oil tankers have left the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the tracking firm Kpler, despite a declaration of a continued US blockade.
Trump has said that while the Strait of Hormuz is “open and ready for business,” the naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran.” He said that the regime would remain in place until “our transaction with Iran is 100% complete.”
Brent oil prices dropped by more than 10%, dipping below $90 on the news of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Read the full statement by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump has thanked Iran for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.