Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” US President Donald Trump said, announcing the reopening of
the Strait of Hormuz on Friday
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD, June 15: President Donald Trump has announced that the US and Iran have finalised a deal to end their 107-day war, which has triggered a global energy crisis.
Details of the deal were not immediately available.
The peace agreement is scheduled to be signed on June 19 in Geneva, according to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday evening, easing pressure on the global energy markets.
He said the deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the US naval blockade on Iranian ports.
“I hereby fully authorise the toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz and, simultaneously, authorise the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” Trump said.
However, in a subsequent post, Trump said the Strait of Hormuz will open on Friday after the official signing of the agreement.
Even if the strait — a crucial waterway for the world’s oil and natural gas — fully opens then, it will likely take months for the global energy crisis sparked by its closure to ease.
The finalisation of the deal, on a day when Trump turned 80, capped a tumultuous week of war and diplomacy when the US carried out strikes on Iran and the US president, at the last minute, backed off a threat to take control of the Kharg Island, the oil export hub of the Islamic Republic.
“This Great Deal will bring Peace and Security to the whole Region. Many presidents have tried to make Peace with Iran, and all have failed before me,” Trump said.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed the agreement on but said Iran would not start implementing it until it was signed on Friday.
Pakistan, which has emerged as a key mediator in the US-Iran negotiations, facilitating contacts between Washington and Tehran and hosting diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the conflict, also confirmed the deal.
“Following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED,” PM Shehbaz said in a post on X.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that the country wouldn’t withdraw from land seized in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. Israel is not party to the deal.
A spokesman in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel will continue to defend itself against any threat to its security.
This statement alone could scuttle the deal, since Iran has insisted any agreement to end the war include an end to the fighting in Lebanon.
The US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders.
Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, who was elected as the new supreme leader, has not been seen in public since the war began. (Agencies)
