US President Donald Trump told AFP on Friday that there were 'no sticking points' left for a peace deal with Iran, which he said was 'very close' as Tehran declared the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial shipping.
The positive signals from Washington came as a ceasefire went into effect in Lebanon, raising hopes that two of the main obstacles to a US-Iran agreement could have been cleared.
'We're very close. Looks like it's going to be very good for everybody. And we're very close to having a deal,' Trump said in a brief telephone call with AFP from Las Vegas, adding there were 'no sticking points at all' left with Tehran.
The comments came after a series of social media posts in which he touted progress on reopening the key waterway through which around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes in peacetime and ending Iran's nuclear program.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Islamic republic would lift its blockade on shipping through the key Gulf energy trade route.
UN chief Antonio Guterres called the Hormuz reopening 'a step in the right direction' and urged full freedom for shipping through the waterway.
Oil prices had already been falling amid hopes of a negotiated end to the conflict, in which both Iran and the US have sought to control shipping out of the Gulf, and the drop accelerated sharply after Iran's announcement.
