Iran temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz on Friday following a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, offering a glimmer of hope for peace talks. However, Tehran cautioned that it could close the vital waterway once more if the recent US naval blockade of Iranian ports persists. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced on social media that the strait was ‌open for all commercial vessels for the remainder of the US-brokered 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon.

US President Donald Trump told supporters at a rally in Arizona that Araghchi's announcement marked "a great and brilliant day for the world."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday welcomed Iran's announcement as a "step in the right direction." Meanwhile, British Prime Minister ​Keir Starmer said the UK and France will lead a multinational mission to protect commercial shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz once fighting ends.

Uncertainty remains on shipping through Strait of Hormuz

However, subsequent statements and clarifications from both Iran and the US left unanswered questions over how quickly shipping might return to normal.

Trump said a US blockade of ships sailing to Iranian ports, announced after talks with Iran last weekend ended without agreement, would remain until "our ​transaction with Iran is 100% complete."

Iran responded sharply, with Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and senior negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf saying in a social media post that the strait "will not remain open" if the US blockade continues.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also warned on Friday that Iran would take "countermeasures" if the US naval blockade of the strait persisted.

An informed source close to the Supreme National Security Council told Tasnim News Agency that if the US continues its naval blockade, Iran will consider it a violation of the ceasefire between the two countries and will choke the channel.

According to the source, Iran has specified three conditions for passage: the vessels must be commercial and not military, unaffiliated with hostile countries, and follow Iran-determined routes after prior coordination with Iranian authorities.

Vessel traffic data showed a ​group of around 20 ships, including container ships and bulk carriers, moving through the Gulf toward the strait on Friday evening, but most ended up turning back, although it was not clear why, Reuters reported.

Contradictory saying before upcoming peace talks 

A new round of US-Iran talks will be held on Monday in Pakistan, CNN reported Friday, citing anonymous Iranian sources. But it was unclear how Iran and the US would address Iran's nuclear program, which has been a key sticking point in peace talks so far.

Trump claimed Friday that Iran has "agreed to everything" for a peace deal including working with Washington to remove its enriched uranium without the involvement of US ground troops.

In a phone interview with Bloomberg, Trump said Iran agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely, and will not receive any frozen funds from the United States.

The US will get all of Iran's nuclear "dust" with no money having exchanged hands "in any way, shape, or form," Trump wrote on social media earlier on Friday.

Trump also said Iran has agreed to stop backing groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.

However, Baghaei told state-run IRIB television on Friday that Iran will not transfer its enriched uranium to a foreign country, and sending it to the United States has never been under consideration.

"We have reached no new agreement," the  Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said. "The ceasefire agreement is the one announced on April 8."

Baghaei added that compensation for war damages was one of Iran's top priorities in any negotiations with the US.

Qalibaf also accused Trump of making several false claims regarding the status of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's enriched uranium in a post on X in the early morning hours of Saturday.

"The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false," Qalibaf wrote, urging all to "read the real and accurate news of the negotiations," referring to updates issued by Baghaei.

The Bab al-Mandab Strait, a new lever？

A separate warning that starting from Saturday noon, anyone wishing to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait must be more vigilant than ever.

The Bab al-Mandab Strait, a strategic chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, serves as a vital corridor for global trade, particularly oil and gas shipments between Europe and Asia.

Qin Tian, deputy director of the Middle East Institute at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told CMG the warning may be a lever for Iran in the next round of negotiations with the US as it seeks to lift the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Qin noted that mixed, even contradictory, signals from both sides suggest the next round will be highly complex, chaotic, and deeply uncertain.

(With input from agencies)