Donald Trump has declared that the strait of Hormuz will be “completely open” from Friday, as western leaders gathering at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains battled to prevent the fragile US deal with Iran from almost immediately unravelling.
“The deal’s all signed. And the strait is already partially opened,” Trump said as he arrived at the summit, but Israeli breaches of the ceasefire in Lebanon and Iran’s claims about its right to charge fees in the crucial waterway revealed the agreement’s many loose ends.
The memorandum of understanding, which US officials said would open the strait of Hormuz in exchange for a lifting of a US naval blockade on Iran, is set to be formally signed at a ceremony in Geneva on Friday. However, technical discussions led by US Vice-President JD Vance will begin later this week, including the more thorny issues of the fate of Iran’s nuclear programme.
White House officials said that as of now, “$0 of unfrozen assets have been released by the United States or any other country”, and that there would not be an immediate drawdown of US forces near Iran upon signing.
Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, said the deal could stabilise the world economy, but warned Israel that the ceasefire agreement must apply to Lebanon after an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle in southern Lebanon, killing one person. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned: “There can be no lasting peace whilst Lebanon remains in flames.”
In Israel, concern and anger deepened, directed at both Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, as analysts noted that none of Netanyahu’s promises at the beginning of the war – including regime change in Tehran and destruction of Iran’s nuclear programme – had been fulfilled.
