



Iran talks, China’s rise, and US’s shrinking ally base
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.It has been an eventful week – once again dominated by developments around the US-Israel-Iran war.Iran said on Friday (17 April) that the Strait of Hormuz is open. The announcement came almost simultaneously from US President Donald Trump (via Truth Social) and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (on X).“In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep.
of Iran,” Aragchi’s X post read.“Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open and ready for full passage. Thank you!” read Trump’s post.
(What he meant was Straits of Hormuz, a Freudian slip in his excitement to relay or “break” the news to the world but says volumes about what Trump secretly thinks of the Strait of Hormuz)A key point in Aragchi’s X post is that the Strait will be open for the “remaining period of the ceasefire”. Does it refer to the Israel-Lebanon truce announced on Thursday (16 April)? Or does it refer to the US Iran ceasefire?Predictably, oil prices softened following the announcement.Iran’s announcement on the Strait of Hormuz comes almost 24 hours after Trump announced that a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon would begin on Tuesday.
The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire was a critical demand placed by Iran on the negotiating table. (Though Trump said on Truth Social that the opening of Hormuz by Iran had nothing to do with the Israel-Lebanon deal.)That said, reopening the Strait may have been a relatively easier concession for Iran given the more complex issues on the
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