Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

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<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178156870218517780320186651776435480474AFP__20260304__99WD7EN__v1__HighRes__IranIsraelUsConflictTransport (1).webp" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A person points at a page on the Marinetraffic website that shows commercial boats traffic on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian coast, in Paris on March 4, 2026.<em> Photo by Julien De Rosa/AFP</em><br/></span></span></span></div><p>TEHRAN, Iran — US President Donald Trump said Monday that ships were again moving through the Strait of Hormuz and the vital oil route would be &quot;completely open&quot; by Friday, after Washington and Tehran announced a deal to end the Middle East war.</p><p>The reopening of one of the world&#x27;s most important energy chokepoints would mark a major step toward ending months of deadly conflict and economic turmoil triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.</p><p>&quot;Ships are starting to move, many loaded up with Oil, out of the Strait of Hormuz,&quot; Trump said, adding later that he did not &quot;think we will need much help&quot; keeping the waterway open.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/5/6/us-pauses-hormuz-escorts-in-bid-for-deal-as-threats-continue-0951">US pauses guiding ships through Hormuz, cites Iran deal hopes</a></div><p>Iranian media reported on Monday evening that three oil tankers and two cargo ships carrying goods had passed through the area that had been subject to a US naval blockade.</p><p>Iran had blockaded the strait since the start of the war, sending oil prices soaring and raising fears of a prolonged inflation shock. The United States then blocked shipping to and from Iranian ports.</p><p>The US, Iran and mediator Pakistan said the peace agreement was to be signed Friday in Switzerland.</p><p>A senior US administration official, however, said Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iran&#x27;s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had already signed the text electronically.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/5/21/iran-tightens-grip-on-strait-of-hormuz-forcing-tankers-to-seek-approval-analyst-0806">Iran tightens grip on Strait of Hormuz, forcing tankers to seek approval - analyst</a></div><p>&quot;The president wanted to sign it personally because he wanted to show his... dedication to bring this through to a successful resolution,&quot; said the official.</p><p>Asked at the G7 in France when the text would be released, Trump said: &quot;It&#x27;s a very powerful document, and I want it to be released. So probably pretty soon.&quot;</p><p>Iran&#x27;s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the deal brought an &quot;immediate end&quot; to the war, with talks on a &quot;final agreement&quot; to be held within two months.</p><p>His country&#x27;s military hailed the accord as a victory, claiming it had &quot;humiliated&quot; the US and Israel, while President Masoud Pezeshkian called it &quot;a great achievement&quot; for the region.</p><p>But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a more cautious note.</p><p>&quot;We have a history of broken commitments,&quot; he said. &quot;We have a history of agreements being torn up. All of this is present in our minds.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>LEBANON QUESTIONS </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Iran&#x27;s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Washington must ensure that Israel stops fighting in Lebanon under the agreement.</p><p>Lebanon was pulled into the war in early March when Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel after the killing of Iran&#x27;s supreme leader, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/6/15/us-iran-peace-deal-announced-with-permanent-end-to-military-action-0604">US-Iran peace deal announced with &#x27;permanent&#x27; end to military action</a></div><p>&quot;The United States must honor its commitments. It must ensure that the Zionist regime also respects its own regarding Lebanon,&quot; Baqaei said.</p><p>But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country&#x27;s forces would remain in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza &quot;as long as necessary&quot;.</p><p>He said the war with Iran had spared Israel from the Islamic republic&#x27;s threat of &quot;nuclear annihilation&quot;, while Israeli figures across the political spectrum criticized the deal.</p><p>Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed the agreement during a call with Araghchi, saying he hoped it would be a &quot;positive step towards reducing tensions&quot;.</p><p>Lebanese state media later reported the first deadly strike since the announcement, saying the Israeli attack in the south killed one person.</p><p>Hezbollah, which thanked Iran for insisting Lebanon be included in the deal, said it had repelled an Israeli force trying to &quot;advance&quot; in southern Lebanon.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>TERMS UNCLEAR </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The deal follows weeks of fraught negotiations and threats of renewed hostilities, but key details remain unclear.</p><p>Baqaei said Washington had &quot;committed&quot; to releasing frozen Iranian funds abroad and compensating Tehran for wartime damage.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/6/15/oil-prices-down-more-than-4-after-us-iran-deal-to-open-hormuz-0832">Oil prices plunge, Asia stocks rise after US-Iran deal</a></div><p>Iran&#x27;s Mehr news agency had reported the US would release $12 billion in frozen assets before negotiations begin.</p><p>Baqaei said Tehran would seek UN Security Council ratification after negotiating a final agreement on its nuclear program.</p><p>That could prove contentious as Washington presses to end Iran&#x27;s nuclear ambitions and address its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, said to have been buried by US strikes last year.</p><p>Trump told The New York Times the US was still negotiating whether Iran would suspend enrichment for 20 years, hinting he might settle for 15.</p><p>Baqaei said Iran would charge maritime service fees, rather than tolls, on shipping through Hormuz.</p><p>The announcement of the agreement sent oil prices sharply lower and lifted global stocks, with traders betting that the reopening of a route that normally carries about 20 percent of the world&#x27;s crude would ease pressure on energy supplies.</p><p>Crude prices fell nearly five percent toward $80 a barrel after having surged above $110 soon after the war began, while the Dow hit a fresh record and the Nasdaq jumped more than three percent.</p><p>In Tehran, English teacher Arya, 38, said &quot;our people will not return to normal&quot;.</p><p>&quot;They came to understand that Trump is not their ally,&quot; he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NpqKD1yFcCM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jjBYhpkbU94?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-cSYy4M3kEs?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ii_ygbOcWAo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The reopening of one of the world's most important energy chokepoints would mark a major step toward ending months of deadly conflict and economic turmoil triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.</p>

The reopening of one of the world's most important energy chokepoints would mark a major step toward ending months of deadly conflict and economic turmoil triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

Trump says Hormuz to reopen Friday under US-Iran deal

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Trump says Hormuz to reopen Friday under US-Iran deal

AFP teams in Tehran,

Washington,

Dubai,

Beirut and Jerusalem

Published June 16, 2026 08:17 AM PHT

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