Amid conflicting messages, optimism for peace deal emerges

President Donald Trump and the Iranian foreign minister announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz had reopened, raising hopes that the warring nations were cooperating and negotiating toward a peace deal.

The proclamations, made on social media by both sides, propelled U.S. stock markets to record highs and sent oil prices tumbling more than 10%.

But the picture was muddied when Trump said that a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports would remain in “FULL FORCE” until there was a peace deal.

As the day wore on, Trump appeared to be negotiating a peace agreement publicly, in real time, through interviews and social media posts. He spoke of several points as fait accompli even though Iran has not publicly agreed to them.

He told Bloomberg News that Iran had agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely and that Tehran would not receive any frozen assets from the United States.

In an interview with Agence France-Presse, the president said there were “no sticking points” with Iran.

In a brief phone interview with Axios, Trump said he expected a deal “in the next day or two.” And he told CBS News that Iran had “agreed to everything.”

The agreement would allow the United States to retrieve Iran’s nuclear material, he said.

“Our people, together with the Iranians, are going to work together to go get it,” he told CBS. “And then we’ll take it to the United States.”

But in comments to Iranian state media, a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry said Iran had rejected the option of transferring its enriched uranium stockpile abroad.

The sum total of Trump’s disparate statements and those by Iranian officials amounted to dizzying but hopeful signs that an end to the war might be in reach.

“A GREAT AND BRILLIANT DAY FOR THE WORLD!” Trump wrote in his series of social media posts filled with exclamation points and all-caps messages. He thanked “fantastic” Pakistani mediators and Gulf states for their “great bravery.”

Three senior Iranian officials echoed Trump’s optimism, saying that Iran and the United States were finalizing a three-page memorandum of understanding that outlined a broad framework for a lasting peace deal.

The memorandum defines a 60-day period for negotiations to continue toward a deal, they said, adding that the memorandum could be signed when the United States and Iran convene for a second round of talks in Pakistan, expected to be in the next few days. A marathon first round of talks last weekend ended without agreement.

Amid the hopes for a peace agreement, there were also striking public signs of dissension among Iranian leaders.

Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said in a post on the social site X that “the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of the ceasefire.”

The opening of the strait, he said, was “in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon,” the truce that Trump announced on Thursday that quelled fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah.

But a few hours after Araghchi’s announcement, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the country’s Revolutionary Guard, described the foreign minister’s social media post as “bad and incomplete.”

A statement by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy commander said a “new order” had been established over the strait, but that passage would be contingent on permission from the navy. The statement also said that no military vessels would be allowed to pass through the strait and that the agreement was in line with the ceasefire.

The resumption of maritime traffic in the strait is crucial for the global economy, especially countries in Asia that have been cut off from a large share of their energy supplies.

Before the war, around 130 ships a day passed through the strait, using two main lanes. To maximize the flow of tankers through the waterway, shipping analysts said vessels would have to return to those lanes. But shipowners say they must be certain that they are free of mines.

According to U.S. officials, Iran had not been able to locate all of the mines it laid in the strait and lacked the capability to remove them.

On Friday, Trump said on social media that, with the help of the United States, Iran “has removed, or is removing, all sea mines!”

The proclamations did not seem enough to convince shipping companies on Friday that they could use the strait. Shipping experts said that several vessels approached the Strait of Hormuz from the Persian Gulf on Friday but then turned around.

Alexis Ellender, an analyst at Kpler, a ship tracking firm, said at least 10 vessels had acted in this way, adding that it was “unclear if they were instructed to retreat or if something else changed their minds.” He said the ships included bulk carriers carrying fertilizer.

European leaders meeting in Paris on Friday discussed plans for an international mission to restore maritime security. Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said the mission would be deployed “as soon as conditions allow.”

The meeting was hosted by President Emmanuel Macron of France and joined by Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy. Leaders from 48 countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East joined by teleconference.

The progress toward reopening the waterway on Friday came after Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire the day before. The deal, brokered by Trump, remains fragile but prompted celebrations across Lebanon. Thousands of displaced families clogged roads as they returned home, many weighed down by piles of personal possessions.

They drove across a landscape devastated by war. Israel bombed all the main bridges linking northern and southern Lebanon across the Litani River, forcing cars to snake in a single file along a makeshift dirt crossing.

In one of his Friday social media posts, Trump issued a stern admonition to Israel, which has been locked in a bloody conflict with Hezbollah since the early days of the war with Iran.

“Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer,” Trump wrote. “They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Copyright 2026 The New York Times Company

This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 5:13 PM.