IN FLIGHT – APRIL 17: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press aboard Air Force One on April 17, 2026 just prior to landing at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump sounded optimistic late Friday about the progress of peace talks with Iran and said negotiations are continuing as a fragile ceasefire held, but Iranian media said the key Strait of Hormuz was closed to shipping traffic again after the U.S. failed to meet its obligations.
“We had some pretty good news 20 minutes ago, but it seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran,” Trump told reporters traveling to Washington on Air Force One, according to MS Now. “We’ll know over a little period of time. We’re negotiating over the weekend.”
A major sticking point in the negotiations has been the issue of recovering material from Iran’s nuclear program. Trump said the U.S. will “go in with Iran and we will take it together, and we will bring it back, 100% of it back to the United States”.
“We’ll take it after the agreement is signed,” he said.
Peace talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad between a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and Iranian negotiators headed by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf failed to reach an agreement last weekend.
Trump added that he likely would not extend the two-week ceasefire that’s due to end on Wednesday and said that a blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place. U.S. and Israeli forces began an aerial campaign against Iranian targets on Feb. 28.
“Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade is going to remain. But maybe I won’t extend it, so you have a blockade, and unfortunately, we’ll have to start dropping bombs again,” Trump said.
Confusion over Hormuz
Earlier on Friday, Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial ships during a separate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, but confusion quickly emerged about whether the sea lane was really open without conditions.
Iranian state media said on Saturday that the Strait has since closed because of a failure by the U.S. to hold up its end of the bargain.
“Iran agreed to allow a limited number of ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz according to agreements,” the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) service said in a post on X.
“But U.S. did not fulfill their obligations. So, the Strait of Hormuz is now closed again and passage requires IRAN approval,” IRIB said.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on social media: “In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire.”
However, vessels must transit through a “coordinated route” announced by Iran’s maritime authorities, Araghchi said. It is unclear whether Tehran will force ships to pay a toll to pass the strait.
Israel and Lebanon agreed Thursday to a 10-day ceasefire starting at 5 p.m. ET that evening. Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon against the militant group Hezbollah, who are close allies of Iran, has been another sticking point in negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
President Donald Trump on Friday thanked Iran for opening the strait in a social media post. But Trump said the U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s ports will stay in effect until an agreement is reached with Tehran.
Trump also said Friday that Iran “has just announced that the Strait of Hormuz is fully open and ready for business and full passage,” even as the U.S. blockade remains in “full force.”
“This will be a great and brilliant day for the world,” Trump said during a speech at a Turning Point USA event in Phoenix.
Ghalibaf, quickly disputed Trump’s claim that Tehran had cleared the strait for transit.
“With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open,” Ghalibaf wrote in a translated X post.
Indeed, video footage from ship tracking firm Kpler shows a number of tankers and cargo ships did try to exit the waterway on Friday, but turned back.
“They’ve clearly not been given approval to pass through,” Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler, told CNBC.
Iranian media affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard described a limited reopening of the strait. Commercial ships must coordinate with Iranian forces, a source close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council told Tasnim News.
Ships are not allowed to pass if they or their cargoes are linked to hostile nations, according to the Tasnim report. The strait will be closed if the U.S. naval blockade continues, according to the report.
Oil prices plunged more than 10% on Friday to below $90 per barrel. About a fifth of the world’s crude supplies passed through the strait before the war. The closure of the sea lane, which connects the Persian Gulf to global energy markets, has triggered the biggest oil supply disruption in history.
Trump agreed to the two-week ceasefire on April 7 in exchange for Iran completely opening the strait. But Ghalibaf accused the U.S. of violating the agreement by allowing Israel to continue its campaign in Lebanon.
