Main developments
The US extended a waiver allowing countries to buy Russian oil after denying two days ago that it would be renewed
An Iranian official said the Strait of Hormuz would not remain open if the US naval blockade of Iranian ports continued
Donald Trump said Iran peace talks would “probably” resume this weekend.
US stocks closed higher with the S&P 500 on track for its best month since November 2020.
Iran’s foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open” to commercial shipping for the duration of the ceasefire in Lebanon. Oil prices fell to the lowest level in over a month, with international benchmark Brent crude falling more than 9 per cent to settle at $90.38 a barrel.
Shipping still faced big uncertainties with any reopening of the strait likely to be “slow and partial”, executives and analysts cautioned. Ship tracking data showed 12 vessels had turned back or paused in the strategic waterway after Iran said it was open.
Ships must obtain permission from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to pass through the strait, while military vessels remain prohibited, according to Iranian state television.
Trump said the American naval blockade of Iranian ports would remain in effect.
The US president added America had “prohibited” Israel from further strikes on Lebanon, declaring “enough is enough”.
A 10-day ceasefire between Lebanese group Hizbollah and Israel came into effect on Friday but Lebanon’s state news reported Israeli strikes and shelling have continued.
US extends waiver allowing countries to buy Russian oil
The US Treasury will allow countries to buy Russian oil stranded at sea for at least another month.
The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Friday issued a licence authorising the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of today.
The licence, which lasts until May 16, replaces a measure first introduced in mid-March.
The original licence provoked criticism from the EU and Ukraine when it was announced. At the time, US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent described it as a “narrowly tailored, short-term measure”. He insisted at a White House press conference that it would not be renewed.
Top Iranian official dismisses many of Trump’s claims
A top Iranian official has dismissed many of Donald Trump’s claims and reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz would not be open in the face of a US naval blockade.
“The US president has made seven claims in an hour, all seven of which are false,” said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary Speaker and head of its negotiating delegation, in a post on X.
He said that if the naval blockade continued, the strait “will not stay open”, and that whether the waterway is open or shut will not be determined on social media.
“They did not win the war with these lies, and they will definitely not get anywhere in negotiations either,” he said.
The US president on Friday said “Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again”. Trump also said Tehran had agreed to an “unlimited” suspension of its nuclear programme and that peace talks would “probably” resume this weekend.
Iran denied it had agreed to hand over its stockpile of enriched uranium.