Trump and Iran Offer Conflicting Claims on Strait of Hormuz Reopening, Leaving Shippers Uncertain

President Donald Trump said Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open” to shipping, but also said a U.S. naval blockade targeting Iran will stay in place until a broader U.S.-Iran “transaction” is finished, injecting new uncertainty into traffic through one of the world’s most important oil routes.

The contradiction came in a rapid sequence of public statements that left a basic question unresolved for shippers and energy markets: whether commercial passage is broadly resuming, or whether vessels tied to Iran still face U.S. military interdiction even as Tehran says the waterway is open.

On April 17, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X, in a post quoted by The Associated Press, that “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.”

Minutes later, according to Yonhap, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open and ready for full passage. Thank you!”

But in a follow-up post later the same day, also reported by Yonhap, Trump added: “THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS AND FULL PASSAGE, BUT THE NAVAL BLOCKADE WILL REMAIN IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT AS IT PERTAINS TO IRAN, ONLY, UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100 PERCENT COMPLETE.” He said that “most of the points are already negotiated.”

Those are overlapping but not identical claims. Iran described a temporary reopening for commercial traffic during the remaining period of a ceasefire. Trump, by contrast, said the U.S. blockade against Iran-specific shipping remains active. Based on available reporting Friday, the practical operating picture for commercial carriers was still unclear.

That ambiguity matters well beyond the Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz, between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, is one of the world’s central energy chokepoints, with roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day passing through it in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. Even a short disruption can move crude prices, insurance costs and, eventually, consumer fuel prices.

Markets reacted quickly to signs of reopening. Outlets including Axios reported that oil prices fell after Iran’s announcement and Trump’s initial post. But Trump’s insistence that the naval blockade remains in force for Iran, combined with Araghchi’s wording that tied the reopening to the ceasefire period, left traders and shipping interests with fresh uncertainty.

The U.S. blockade itself was already a major escalation. Washington announced and began enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian ports earlier this month, with reporting indicating implementation around April 13. U.S. military messaging had described interdiction of vessels bound for or departing Iranian ports.

Friday’s statements came a day after Trump announced a 10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire on April 16. Araghchi explicitly linked the reopening of Hormuz passage to that ceasefire, underscoring that Iran was presenting the move as temporary and conditional, not necessarily a permanent restoration of normal shipping.

That distinction is now central to the story. A declaration that the strait is open is not the same as a guarantee that every commercial vessel can move without restriction, especially if the United States is still stopping ships connected to Iranian ports.

For oil markets, that gap between political messaging and operational reality is the issue. The headline suggested relief. The fine print suggested limits. Until shipping companies, insurers and naval forces are working from the same understanding, the status of passage through Hormuz will remain a live source of market risk.