Updates with details throughout
US president Donald Trump on Wednesday said his decision to allow Iran to at least temporarily maintain control over the strait of Hormuz and to discuss full sanctions relief for Tehran was a "big day for World Peace".
The US and Iran late on Tuesday Washington time announced a two-week ceasefire, during which the two countries will hold negotiations to finalize a peace agreement. The two countries' starting negotiating positions are far apart. But Trump confirmed at least one point demanded by Iran, relating to its chokehold on navigation through Hormuz.
"For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's armed forces and with due consideration of technical limitations," Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday. Trump reposted the statement in full.
Vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz has yet to rise since the US and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire, as shipowners wait for clarity on security arrangements and insurance cover for transits. Additional war risk premiums for transits through the Mideast Gulf, the strait of Hormuz and the Red sea are not expected to ease immediately despite a ceasefire announcement, market participants said.
And energy infrastructure in Iran and the Mideast Gulf states remained under attack in the hours after the ceasefire was announced.
Rather than clarify questions over the status of the strait of Hormuz, Trump's statements only added to the confusion. On Wednesday morning, Trump asserted that there will be a "joint control" over the strait and that the US "will be helping with the traffic buildup in the strait of Hormuz".
US vice president JD Vance, who could potentially lead the US negotiations with Iran, on Wednesday called the ceasefire "fragile", asserting that there are elements in the Iranian leadership who might be opposing talks with the US by misrepresenting the peace proposals under discussion.
"You have people who clearly want to come to the negotiating table and work with us to find a good deal, and then you have people who are lying about even the fragile truce that we've already struck," Vance said in remarks in Budapest.
Vance could potentially travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, for high-level talks with an Iranian delegation, "but nothing is final until announced by" Trump, the White House said on Wednesday.
Iran's supreme national security council on Tuesday outlined a 10-point peace proposal, which included enshrining its control over Hormuz, lifting all sanctions on Iran, accepting of its right to nuclear enrichment, withdrawing of all US forces from the region and ending Israel's incursion into Lebanon.
Trump in a rambling social media post on Tuesday evening lashed out at CNN for reporting details of Iran's 10-point plan as described by Tehran. Trump, in a social media post on Wednesday, added another denunciation of the references to details of Iran's 10-point proposal, which he said were circulated by "Fraudsters, Charlatans, and WORSE".
There was only "one group of meaningful 'POINTS' that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these Negotiations," Trump said.
But in an earlier Wednesday social media post, Trump acknowledged at least one other point demanded by Iran: "We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran," Trump said.
The US has a 15-point counter-proposal, with provisions directly contravening the Iranian position, including over its nuclear program.
Trump's hawkish anti-Iran loyalists in Congress appeared to be confused by his willingness to discuss Iranian demands that his predecessors previously refused to even consider. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), who defended Trump's decision to go to war with Iran without Congress' approval, said on Tuesday that Congress will need to have a say in any peace agreement Trump signs with Iran.
Trump on Wednesday also threatened a 50pc tariff against any country that supplies Iran with weapons, even though the US Supreme Court has curtailed his ability to impose tariffs at will.
Pentagon officials on Wednesday morning described the US operation as overwhelmingly successful and asserted that the US had forced Iran to capitulate.
"Iran begged for this ceasefire and we all know it," defense secretary Pete Hegseth said.
"We congratulate all the people of Iran on this victory," Iran's supreme national security council said on Tuesday.
