US President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday that Iran has announced the Strait of Hormuz is fully open and ready for full passage, posting on social media: “Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open and ready for full passage. Thank you!”
The statement from Trump — notably using the phrase “Strait of Iran” rather than the conventional “Strait of Hormuz,” a slip that has not gone unnoticed — serves as Washington’s first official acknowledgment and endorsement of Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi’s announcement at 6:15 PM IST that the waterway is completely open to all commercial vessels for the remaining period of the ceasefire.
The two-word sign-off — “Thank you!” — is as close to a diplomatic victory lap as Trump’s posting style allows. It signals that the White House views the Hormuz opening as a meaningful concession from Tehran and a vindication of the pressure strategy it has pursued since the war began on February 28, including the naval blockade of Iranian ports that came into effect on April 13 and has turned away more than ten vessels.
What Has Now Been Confirmed by Both Sides
The sequence of events on Friday evening is now confirmed from both the Iranian and American sides. Araghchi posted on X at 6:15 PM IST that the Strait is completely open for all commercial vessels for the remaining ceasefire period, explicitly linking the move to the Lebanon ceasefire. Trump has now confirmed and welcomed that announcement from the American side.
This bilateral acknowledgment — Iran announcing, the United States confirming — is structurally significant beyond the oil market reaction it has already triggered. It means the Hormuz opening is not a unilateral Iranian gesture that Washington is ignoring or contesting. It is a mutually acknowledged development that both parties are publicly associating with progress toward a resolution.
Brent crude has fallen 8.21% to $91.29 per barrel. WTI has crashed 11.72% to $82.26. MCX Crude has shed 10.69% to ₹7,909. The market has already done its repricing. Trump’s confirmation removes the last doubt about whether the opening is real.
The Ceasefire Expiry Still Looms
The opening remains conditional on the ceasefire holding through its expiry on approximately April 21-22. Trump’s “Thank you” does not change that structural reality. What it does is significantly raise the political cost for Iran of closing the Strait again before the ceasefire deadline — having made the gesture, accepted Washington’s public gratitude for it, and created the conditions for a second round of talks, a reimposition of Hormuz restrictions would be read as a deliberate provocation rather than a defensive response.
Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir is in Tehran today with a second meeting with Araghchi scheduled for Saturday. NBC News has reported a second round of in-person US-Iran talks could happen as early as this week. Trump had earlier said the world should brace for “an amazing two days.” Friday evening’s sequence — the Lebanon ceasefire holding, the Hormuz opening, Trump’s confirmation — suggests he may have known what was coming.
What Comes Next
The Hormuz opening for the ceasefire period is a confidence-building measure, not a final settlement. The two hardest issues — Iran’s uranium enrichment programme and the permanent status of Hormuz control — remain unresolved and were the precise points on which the Islamabad talks collapsed after 21 hours on April 12. A ceasefire extension, rather than a permanent deal, is the most realistic outcome of the next round of talks given the complexity of what remains to be negotiated.
But Friday evening has moved the diplomatic situation further forward than any single development since the ceasefire was first announced on April 8. The Strait is open. Trump has said thank you. Oil has crashed. And for the first time since February 28, the possibility of a genuine resolution to the worst energy crisis since the 1970s feels closer than the possibility of its escalation.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Readers are advised to consult a SEBI-registered financial advisor before making investment decisions. Geopolitical situations are subject to rapid change.