We’re wrapping up this live coverage of Middle East news for the moment but you can see our last full report here, and below is a recap of the latest developments. Thanks for joining us.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday announced the strait of Hormuz was “completely open” for all commercial vessels for the remaining period of the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel. The 10-day truce took effect on Thursday.
Donald Trump hailed the reopening as a “brilliant day for the world” but said the US naval blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place. He also said Iran had agreed to never close the strait again, but that has not been verified.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said later that the Hormuz strait “will not remain open” if the US blockade continued and that Trump had made multiple false claims on Friday.
World leaders welcomed Iran’s announcement on the reopening, with UN chief António Guterres calling the move “a step in the right direction” and urging “the full restoration of international navigational rights and freedoms in the Strait of Hormuz, respected by everyone.”
Oil prices tumbled after Iran’s Hormuz announcement amid hopes that energy supplies could resume after nearly two months of disruption. Brent crude – the benchmark for oil traded globally – plunged below $90 a barrel, a 10% fall.
Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron said the reopening must become permanent. The British prime minister and the French president on Friday co-chaired a virtual summit of about 50 countries on the issue.
(From left) German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Macron, Starmer and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni arrive to give a joint statement at the Élysée palace in Paris after the summit to restore freedom of navigation in the Hormuz strait. Photograph: Jeanne Accorsini/EPA
Amid the Israel-Lebanon truce, Trump said the US “prohibited” Israel from bombing Lebanon. Minutes before Trump’s post on social media, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu uploaded a video address declaring that Israel was not done yet with Hezbollah.
The Lebanese army alleged “a number of violations” of the ceasefire by Israel on Friday morning, as thousands of displaced families began making their way home to southern Lebanon.
A cruise ship successfully transited the strait of Hormuz on Friday, making it the first passenger vessel to make it through since the war began, according to ship tracking service MarineTraffic. But there remained uncertainty over how quickly shipping might return to normal, with some vessels observed making unsuccessful attempts cross the strait on Friday before turning back.
Trump said Iran’s enriched uranium would be brought to the US, also claiming the US and Tehran would work together to recover the uranium but denying reports the US was considering a $20bn cash for uranium deal. “No money is changing hands,” he told Reuters.
The Trump administration issued a waiver permitting countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products at sea for about a month, seeking to control soaring global energy prices.
The UK will make “a wide-ranging military contribution” to an international mission to protect shipping in the strait of Hormuz, the UK ambassador to the US, Christian Turner, said in Washington
The UN children’s agency said it was “outraged” after two truck drivers it contracted to deliver clean water to families in Gaza were killed by Israeli fire.
Donald Trump also said there had been some positive news regarding Iran but declined to elaborate.
“We had some pretty good news 20 minutes ago, but it seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran,” he was quoted as telling reporters aboard Air Force One.
When asked what the good news was, the US president replied:
You’ll hear about. I just think it’s something that should happen. It’s something that only makes sense to happen. And I think it will. We’ll see what happens, but I think it will.”
Trump says US may 'start dropping bombs again' if deal with Iran isn't reached
Donald Trump has also said he may end the ceasefire with Iran unless a long-term deal to end the war is agreed by Wednesday.
The president told reporters on Air Force One, cited by Reuters :
Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade [on Iranian ports] is going to remain. So you have a blockade, and unfortunately we have to start dropping bombs again.”
The two-week US-Iran ceasefire expires on Wednesday and the two countries have been in indirect talks aimed at extending the truce.
The White House said midweek that the administration felt “good about the prospects of a deal”, just days after negotiations in Islamabad failed to reach a deal.
Xi Jinping 'very happy' Hormuz strait reopening, says Trump
Donald Trump has just said on social media that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is “very happy” that the strait of Hormuz “is open and/or rapidly opening”.
Trump also said in a series of posts on his Truth Social platform that their meeting in China next month “will be a special one and, potentially, Historic ... Much will be accomplished!”
Trump and Xi Jinping meeting last October on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Busan, South Korea. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Oil prices dropped back to where they were in the early days of the Iran war while US stocks raced to another record after Iran announced it was reopening the strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping.
The S+P 500 leaped 1.2% after Iran’s move.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up as many as 1,100 points before paring its gain and ended with a jump of about 870 points, or 1.8%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.5%.
Oil prices fell 9%, the AP reports.
A freer flow of oil could take pressure off prices not only for petrol but also for groceries and all sorts of other products.
Continuing on Australia for a moment, the government has extended an easing on fuel-quality standards until September as the country’s grapples with the impact of the Iran war on its fuel supply.
“I’ve decided to extend the period of higher sulphur for petrol in Australia,” energy minister Chris Bowen said in televised remarks on Saturday cited by Reuters.
The relaxation – announced in March – increases the amount of sulphur permitted in fuel to 50 parts per million from the usual 10 parts.
Australia imports most of its fuel and has experienced localised shortages amid disrupted supply chains due to the war.
Australia’s prime minister has welcomed Iran’s announcement of reopening the strait of Hormuz but says the situation remains “fragile”.
Anthony Albanese said on Saturday after taking part in a virtual summit of about 50 countries on the issue:
This was positive news that we received last night. We hope that it holds, but what we know is that the impact will be long lasting.”
Turning now to Gaza, the UN children’s agency says it is “outraged” after two truck drivers it contracted to deliver clean water to families in the Strip were killed by Israeli fire.
Unicef said in a statement that the incident occurred during routine water trucking on Friday morning at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza, which supplies Gaza City. Two others were injured in the attack.
Unicef said it had suspended activities at the site and called on Israeli authorities to investigate, stressing that humanitarian workers, civilians and vital water infrastructure must be protected under international humanitarian law.
Israel’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Children at a candlelight vigil in Gaza City ahead of Palestinian prisoners’ day on Friday. Photograph: Abood Abo Salama/SIPA/Shutterstock
US extends waiver allowing countries to buy Russian oil
Donald Trump’s administration has issued a waiver permitting countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products at sea for about a month, seeking to control global energy prices that have shot higher during the war on Iran.
The US Treasury department allowed purchases of the oil loaded on vessels as of Friday until 16 May, an extension of an original 30-day waiver that expired on 11 April, according to a document posted to the department’s website.
The extension comes two days after Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would not be renewing the waiver that allowed countries to purchase Russian oil without facing US sanctions, Reuters reports.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev had said the first waiver would free 100m barrels of Russian crude, equal to almost a day’s worth of global output.
The reprieve on sanctions could temporarily boost world supplies of oil but has not prevented petroleum prices from spiking due to the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz.
UK to make 'wide-ranging' contribution to Hormuz mission, says envoy
Britain will make “a wide-ranging military contribution” to an international mission to protect shipping in the strait of Hormuz trade waterway, the UK ambassador to the US has said.
Christian Turner’s commitment comes amid long-running concerns over the state of Britain’s armed forces and warnings of under-funding, PA Media reports.
The multinational mission, led by the UK and France, aimed to provide reassurance to vessels using the critical waterway once the Iran conflict was over, Turner told an event in Washington.
The initiative was announced at talks in Paris involving nearly 50 countries, which Turner said signalled global resolve to prevent tolls or restrictions being imposed on the shipping route, normally used to move one fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
So far about 12 nations have committed to take part in the mission.
The move has been derided by Donald Trump, who used it as a fresh opportunity to criticise Nato as “useless” after it refused to support his offensive against Iran.
World leaders welcomed Iran’s announcement it was reopening the Hormuz strait, which it made before later warning it would close the waterway if the US blockade of Iranian ports and ships continued.
British prime minister Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron welcomed the reopening but said it must become permanent.
Macron, who with Starmer on Friday night was co-chairing a virtual summit of about 50 countries on reopening the strait and supporting the fragile ceasefire, said the move “goes in the right direction”.
We all oppose any restrictions or system of agreements that would, in effect, amount to an attempt to privatize the strait – and, of course, any toll system.”
Finnish president Alexander Stubb said:
Finland stands ready to work on a solution that brings stability to the region and respects international law.”
Finnish president Alexander Stubb. Photograph: Canadian Press/Shutterstock
Turkish vice-president Cevdet Yılmaz called the reopening “an important step towards deescalation of tension”.
Preventing similar crises, conflicts, and developments that disrupt maritime transport in our region is only possible through dialogue, restraint and strengthening multilateral cooperation.”
As reported earlier, UN chief António Guterres called the reopening “a step in the right direction”.
The UN position remains clear: we need the full restoration of international navigational rights and freedoms in the Strait of Hormuz, respected by everyone.”
Iran warns it will close Hormuz strait if US blockade continues
Iran will shut the strait of Hormuz if the US blockade continues, Iran’s parliamentary speaker has warned.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also said passage through the waterway would depend on authorisation from Iran, while swiping at Donald Trump in the series of posts on X.
Ghalibaf said (in a translation):
1 - The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false.
2 – They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either.”
Iran parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Tehran. Photograph: Handout/Iranian parliament communication office/Getty Images
Ghalibaf, who last weekend co-led the Iranian side in negotiations with the US in Islamabad that failed to reach an agreement, continued in his posts:
3 – With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open.
4 – Passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be conducted based on the “designated route” and with “Iranian authorization”.
Whether the strait was open or closed and the regulations governing it “will be determined by the field, not by social media”, Ghalibaf added.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchiannounced earlier that commercial shipping though the strait was now “completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire”, prompting Trump to welcome to move but also emphasise that the US naval blockade of Iran would remain in place until the conflict was fully concluded.