Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) joint command said Saturday it has reasserted control over the Strait of Hormuz, declaring the waterway “under strict management and control by the armed forces.” The IRGC said restrictions will remain in place until the United States fully lifts what Tehran calls a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The statement followed comments by U.S. President Donald Trump the previous day that the U.S. blockade would continue and that attacks could resume if no agreement is reached before the current ceasefire with Iran expires next week. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump warned he might not extend the pause, saying a blockade could stay in effect and that military strikes might restart, though he also said he expected a deal was possible.
Iran earlier had said the strait was open to commercial shipping along a coordinated route; Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described passage as “completely open.” Trump also posted that the strait was “completely open and ready for business and full passage,” while reiterating the U.S. blockade would remain in force until American conditions are met. Iranian officials warned of reciprocal measures if the blockade persists. Trump said Iran was removing sea mines with U.S. assistance.
In a related economic move, the U.S. Treasury announced an extension of a pause on sanctions on Russian oil shipments to help ease shortages caused by disruptions from the Iran war — a step Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had earlier dismissed as unlikely.
The developments came as a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect overnight. World leaders urged restraint and called for full respect for the truce. Trump hailed the pause as a “historic day” for Lebanon, pressed Israel publicly to honor the agreement and invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House for talks.
Netanyahu said the ceasefire could open the door to wider negotiations but insisted Israel would maintain an expanded 10-kilometer security buffer in southern Lebanon and said any talks would depend on Hezbollah’s disarmament. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described the agreement as a central national demand and expressed hope that displaced residents could return home. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the truce and urged all parties to respect it. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, credited with helping mediate the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, also welcomed the pause as a step toward “sustainable peace.”
Hezbollah, however, urged civilians not to return to southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley or Beirut’s southern suburbs until the situation is clearer and warned that any continued Israeli presence would leave Lebanon with the right to resist. The group, which combines a political role in parliament with an armed militia supported by Iran, opposes diplomatic talks that occur before a ceasefire. Lebanon’s government has pushed for a truce as a precondition for broader negotiations.
Despite the warnings, thousands of people displaced by weeks of fighting began returning to assess the damage. U.N. and Lebanese figures estimate about 1.2 million people were displaced during the conflict. Many returnees described heartbreak and uncertainty after widespread destruction: Lebanese officials say Israeli forces destroyed more than 40,000 homes in southern Lebanon as part of efforts to create a security buffer to stop Hezbollah rocket fire. The latest round of fighting began after Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28; Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
European leaders convened in Paris to press for a long-term plan to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which about 20% of global crude oil and natural gas typically flows. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Tehran’s announcement that the strait had opened, but said a durable, enforceable solution was needed. Dozens of countries were represented at the meeting, including Italy and Germany.
Attendees agreed the strait should be open without tolls or restrictions and discussed measures described by Macron as “strictly defensive”: demining the route, intelligence sharing, military escorts for commercial vessels and steps to prevent Iran from charging passage fees. The United States did not participate in the Paris talks. Disruptions from the conflict and retaliatory attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure had effectively choked the route and unsettled global markets; oil prices and equities moved sharply on ceasefire and reopening news.
The war has also imposed a heavy economic toll across the region. An International Monetary Fund report cited Iran, Iraq and Qatar as the hardest hit: projecting nearly a 9% contraction for Qatar this year from suspended gas production, about a 6% shrinkage for Iran and close to a 7% contraction for Iraq — assuming the ceasefire holds and energy output returns to normal by June. Energy importers such as Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Pakistan are facing larger fiscal deficits because of higher fuel costs.
The overall situation remains fragile. Iran’s IRGC asserts control over the strait pending a U.S. lift of the blockade, international leaders are pressing for safe, toll-free navigation, and the ceasefire that eased immediate hostilities could expire next week — raising the prospect of renewed military action if diplomatic talks do not yield a lasting settlement.