Iranian officials have challenged claims made by US President Donald Trump regarding the status of negotiations, highlighting significant contradictions in messaging amidst ongoing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. Despite this, Trump has stated that there are no remaining \u201csticking points\u201d for a deal, while insisting the blockade will persist until any agreement is \u201c100 percent complete.\u201d Meanwhile, Iran on Saturday once again closed the Strait of Hormuz, demanding the US lift the blockade of its ports, hours after Trump expressed optimism about a deal with Tehran. The Strait had been briefly reopened earlier on Saturday under specific conditions, in line with the Lebanon ceasefire and pre-coordinated maritime routes.<\/p>\n
Here is what we know:<\/p>\n
In Iran:
\nEnriched uranium dispute: Iran\u2019s foreign ministry asserts that its enriched uranium stockpile will not be transferred \u201canywhere,\u201d refuting Trump\u2019s claims that Tehran had agreed to hand it over.
\nHormuz fees plan: Iran announced it would not impose \u201ctraditional\u201d transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz but is drafting legislation to charge ship owners for \u201csecuring the strait,\u201d according to security committee spokesman Ebrahim Rezaei. He added that vessels would only be permitted to pass with prior coordination with Iranian authorities, with hostile military ships, particularly from the US and Israel, being entirely barred.<\/p>\n
War diplomacy:
\nLebanon-Israel \u2018agreements\u2019: President Joseph Aoun stated that Lebanon is approaching a \u201cnew phase\u201d of lasting agreements following the ceasefire and is no longer \u201can arena for others\u2019 wars.\u201d
\nFrance, UK Hormuz mission: France and Britain will spearhead a multinational effort to safeguard freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz \u201cas soon as conditions allow,\u201d as announced by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
\nChina visit hinted: Trump mentioned that Chinese President Xi Jinping supports the reopening of Hormuz and hinted at a \u201cpotentially historic\u201d visit to China.
\nHouthis rally in Yemen for Lebanon: Supporters in Sanaa demonstrated solidarity with Lebanon. The Iran-aligned and armed Houthi movement, which controls northern Yemen, has warned of its readiness to join the war if necessary.<\/p>\n
In the Gulf:
\nFragile recovery: Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan welcomed Iran\u2019s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz but cautioned that the situation remains fragile. He noted that some countries could restart production quickly, while others would require more time, depending on the extent of damage.<\/p>\n
In the US:
\nUS extends Russian oil waiver: The Treasury Department extended a waiver allowing countries to purchase sanctioned Russian oil at sea until May 16. This measure aims to stabilize global supply amidst disruptions caused by the war.
\nIran port blockade enforced: The US naval blockade remains in effect, with US Central Command (CENTCOM) reporting that 21 vessels have complied with orders to turn back from Iranian ports.
\nTrump signals pressure on Iran talks: The US president stated that negotiations are \u201cgoing very well\u201d but warned that the ceasefire might not be extended without a deal, while reiterating the claim that Tehran could hand over enriched uranium \u2013 a claim Iran denies.
\nTrump rejects NATO role: The US president dismissed an offer from NATO to assist in the Strait of Hormuz, labeling the alliance a \u201cpaper tiger\u201d and instructing it to \u201cstay away.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Israel:
\nIsrael \u2018prohibited\u2019 from striking Lebanon: Trump declared that the US has barred Israel from continuing attacks on Lebanon, stating \u201cenough is enough.\u201d
\nNetanyahu says campaign not over: The Israeli Prime Minister warned that the campaign against Hezbollah was not over. \u201cWe have not yet finished the job,\u201d he added, emphasizing that a key objective was the \u201cdismantling of Hezbollah.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Lebanon:
\nOne killed despite ceasefire: Lebanese state media reported that one person was killed in the south by an Israeli attack on a motorcycle, despite the commencement of a 10-day ceasefire.
\nIsrael killed almost 2,300 in Lebanon: Israeli attacks on Lebanon have resulted in nearly 2,300 deaths since March 2, according to Lebanon\u2019s health ministry, on the first day of the ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
\nLebanon war \u2018last anti-colonial battle\u2019: Analyst Rami Khouri suggested that the conflict reflects resistance by Iran-aligned groups against decades of Western influence, with southern Lebanon at its core. He argued that Israel\u2019s push for a \u201csecurity zone\u201d has been halted by Hezbollah and Iran, potentially shifting the conflict from military escalation to negotiations.<\/p>\n
Global economy:
\nOil prices fall, stocks soar: Wall Street reached record highs on Friday after Iran announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which caused oil prices to tumble from a peak of nearly $120 a barrel to $90.38 for Brent Crude.
\nBoeing\u2019s war boost: The war has so far boosted Boeing\u2019s defense business and has not impacted deliveries to airline customers, who are currently facing high jet fuel prices, according to the company\u2019s CEO.
\n#IranUSConflict #StraitOfHormuz #MiddleEastTensions #IranWar #Diplomacy #OilPrices #GlobalEconomy #LebanonCrisis #IsraelHezbollah #Geopolitics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iranian officials have challenged claims made by US President Donald Trump regarding the status of negotiations, highlighting significant contradictions in messaging amidst ongoing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. Despite this, Trump has stated that there are no remaining \u201csticking points\u201d for a deal, while insisting the blockade will persist until any agreement is \u201c100 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}