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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| First two ships traverse Strait of Hormuz; Vance warns ceasefire is ‘fragile,’ |
| 2026-04-09 |
| [IsraelTimes] Vance warns Iran that Trump is ‘not one to mess around;’ IRGC says no trust in US promises, has ‘finger on trigger’ Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also warned that they had "no trust" in promises from the United States, adding that their "finger was on the trigger." "The Iranian nation’s dedicated guards are listening to the orders of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, His Holiness Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, and their finger is on the trigger," read a statement on their Telegram channel. Calling on Gulf countries to end their "cooperation" with the United States, the Guards added: "The enemy has always been deceitful, and we have no trust in its promises, and we will respond to every aggression at a greater level." FRAGILE TRUCE Amid the continuing violence, US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday acknowledged the truce was "fragile" and urged Tehran to negotiate in "good faith" to reach a long-term deal, warning that US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... was "not one to mess around." Tehran has warned that the war is not over until formal terms are negotiated. "If the Iranians are willing in good faith to work with us, I think we can make an agreement," Vance said during a visit to Budapest. He added, if the Iranians don’t come to the negotiating table, "they’re going to find out that the President of the United States is not one to mess around. He’s impatient. He’s impatient to make progress." Vance said Trump had shown "that we still have clear military, diplomatic and maybe most importantly, we have extraordinary economic leverage." "If they’re going to lie, if they’re going to cheat, if they’re trying to prevent even the fragile truce that we’ve set up from taking place, then they’re not going to be happy," he added. In a sign that parts of the truce were being implemented, two ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz since Iran agreed to reopen the waterway, maritime monitor Marine Traffic said Wednesday. "The Greek-owned bulk carrier NJ Earth crossed the Strait at 08:44 UTC, while the Liberia-flagged Daytona Beach transited earlier at 06:59 UTC, shortly after departing Bandar Abbas at 05:28 UTC", MarineTraffic said on X. The United States and Iran agreed overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday to a two-week ceasefire, during which passage through the Strait of Hormuz "will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces," Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. "NJ Earth’s transit may be an early sign of movement, but it is still too soon to tell whether this reflects a broader ceasefire-driven reopening or a previously approved exception," Ana Subasic, analyst at MarineTraffic owner Kpler, told AFP. The Greek-owned ship kept its transponder signal on as it transited the strait via an Iranian-approved route near Larak Island, used by most vessels crossing the waterway for the past three weeks. AFP could not immediately confirm the ship’s destination. "While we expect more crossings in the coming days, from a risk and compliance perspective, this first transit should be read cautiously," Subasic added. Some shipowners and charterers are preparing to move their vessels stuck in the Gulf, shipping journal Lloyd’s List reported on Wednesday morning. It estimates that around 800 ships are currently stuck in the Gulf. Access to the strait was severely restricted by Iran in retaliation against US and Israeli attacks since February 28. From March 1 to April 7, commodities carriers have made 307 crossings, according to Kpler data, a 95-percent decrease from peacetime traffic. Around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passes through the waterway in peacetime. |
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