With Iran peace agreement to be signed Friday, Trump says ships moving in Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Monday that oil barges were moving through the Strait of Hormuz, less than a day after he said the United States and Iran had brokered an end to the war. 

“Ships are starting to move, many loaded up with Oil, out of the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote on social media. “They are going along the Southern ‘Highway,’ which is totally safe, secure, and pristine. There are other areas of travel, also!!!”

Trump said Thursday

An administration official, who did not want to be identified by name, said on a call with reporters organized by the White House on Friday that negotiators were still trying to figure out how to remove nuclear material from Iran. 

“This is very combustible stuff, very volatile stuff. We’re not just going to, like, go down there with a backhoe and a guy with a backpack and start taking it out,” the official said. “The technical details need to be figured out, but I think there’s a commitment to do that.”

Negotiators for the two countries appeared to reach a final agreement over the weekend with Trump posting on social media Sunday that a “Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete.” 

“Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade,” Trump added. “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”

He wrote in another social media post the Strait of Hormuz would open once leaders from both countries formally signed the agreement Friday. That timeline appears to have changed as of Monday morning.

No specifics known yet

The details of the final agreement have not been released publicly, though the administration official said last week that if Iranian leaders followed the steps, they would receive sanctions relief. 

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote in a social media post that the “peace deal” between the U.S. and Iran included “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

He added that an official signing ceremony had been scheduled for Friday in Switzerland. 

“With the agreement now in place, mediators will facilitate a series of meetings this week,” Sharif wrote. “These pre-implementation discussions will lay the foundation for the technical talks and the official signing ceremony.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not issued a statement as of Monday morning saying whether he supports the deal, though his minister of national security appeared to oppose it. 

“Trump’s agreement does not bind us,” Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote in a social media post. “Israel is not subject to the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign nation!”

Israel and the United States began the war in Iran together, but the Israeli military has also struck targets and taken territory inside Lebanon during the past few months.