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Iran live updates: Iran fully opens Strait of Hormuz, Trump says

All commercial vessels will be allowed to pass through the strait.

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Last updated: Friday, April 17, 2026 3:11PM GMT
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President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military and government sites.

After negotiations, U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan failed to reach a peace deal. Trump said that Iran's nuclear program was the key sticking point, and said the U.S. would respond with a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz starting at 10 a.m. ET on Monday.

Iran announced it would fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, but Trump said the blockade will remain in place until the U.S.'s "transaction" with Iran is complete.

Israel, meanwhile, has reached a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, ending its ground operations and intense strikes, where it was engaged with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supported the ceasefire with Iran.

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51 minutes ago

Trump says Israel 'PROHIBITED' from bombing Lebanon

President Donald Trump said that the U.S. has "PROHIBITED" Israel from bombing Lebanon. This comes just one day after he announced a ceasefire had been reached between Israel and Lebanon.

"Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!" Trump said in a post on social media.

Trump added that the U.S. will work with Lebanon and "deal with the Hezboolah situation in an appropriate manner."

The president also talked about one of his main aims to end the war with Iran, saying that the U.S. "will get all Nuclear 'Dust,'" from Iran, but added that "No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form."

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1 hour and 32 minutes ago

Trump says blockade will remain in effect

Despite Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. blockade on Iran will remain in effect.

The blockade will remain "UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE. THIS PROCESS SHOULD GO VERY QUICKLY IN THAT MOST OF THE POINTS ARE ALREADY NEGOTIATED," Trump wrote in a post on social media.

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1 hour and 47 minutes ago

Iran fully opens Strait of Hormuz, Trump says

President Donald Trump has announced that Iran is fully opening the Strait of Hormuz, in a post on social media.

"IRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE," Trump said in a post on social media Friday.

Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also announced the strait's opening on social media Friday.

"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, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran," Araghchi wrote.

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11:10 AM GMT

Thousands return to southern Lebanon, buoyed by ceasefire, as Israel issues warning

Tens of thousands of displaced Lebanese people were moving south on Friday, following the announcement of a 10-day ceasefire, headed back toward the homes they abandoned even as Israel issued new warnings.

Debris of a destroyed building are scattered after an Israeli airstrike in Kfar Roumman, southern Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026.
Debris of a destroyed building are scattered after an Israeli airstrike in Kfar Roumman, southern Lebanon, Friday, April 17, 2026.

"Out of concern for your safety and the safety of your families' members -- until further notice -- you are requested not to move south of the Litani River," Avichay Adraee, an Arab-language spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said in a social media post.

Israel's air raids and ground operations against Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon pushed many locals north in recent weeks.

Israeli prior to the ceasefire had warned anyone south of the Litani River, a geographic boundary between southern and northern Lebanon, that they should move north for their safety.

Israel said its operations targeted members and infrastructure belonging Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, both in southern Lebanon and in the suburbs of Beirut.

President Donald Trump said a ceasefire would begin at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, news that followed talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials in Washington earlier in the week.