Tehran’s statement on opening the key waterway came as US President Donald Trump said talks were underway to end the war.
Published on 25 March 2026
Iran has said “non-hostile” ships can transit the Strait of Hormuz amid a decline in maritime traffic through the waterway that has sparked the biggest global energy crisis in decades.
In a statement on Tuesday, Iran’s mission to the UN said ships can avail of “safe passage” through the waterway, “provided that they neither participate in nor support aggressive acts against Iran and fully comply with the declared safety and security regulations.”
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The statement posted on social media said ships would be allowed to pass through the strait “in coordination with competent Iranian authorities.”
Iran had previously shared a similar statement about the situation in the strait with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN body responsible for the safety of international shipping.
Tehran did not elaborate in statements about what rules ships need to follow to safely navigate the strait, through which about a fifth of the global supply of oil and liquefied natural gas typically transits.
Iran’s comments came as United States President Donald Trump said talks were underway to end the US-Israel war on Iran, although Tehran had previously denied that the two sides were in talks.
While a small number of ships are passing through the strait each day, traffic is still at a fraction of the levels seen before the US and Israel launched war against Iran on February 28.
According to maritime intelligence firm Windward, five ships were tracked transiting the waterway through their automatic detection systems on Monday, down from an average of 120 daily transits before the conflict.
While Iran warned in the early days of the conflict that any ships attempting to pass through would be attacked, Tehran officials have insisted in recent weeks that the waterway will remain open except to “enemies.”
The collapse of shipping in the strait has prompted a rise in global energy prices, with some analysts estimating that oil could rise to $150 or $200 a barrel if the waterway remains effectively closed.
After hovering above $100 a barrel for most of March, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell more than 9 percent on Wednesday after The New York Times, Reuters news agency and Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the Trump administration had sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war.
Asia’s major stock indices opened with gains on Wednesday amid hopes of an end to the conflict.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was up about 2.3 percent by 02:30 GMT, while South Korea’s KOSPI was 2.6 percent higher.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up 0.7 percent.
