Strait of hormuz

Another five tankers, loaded with approximately 9 million barrels of oil, were spotted in the Gulf of Oman earlier this week and are no longer visible in the images.

Amid a fragile ceasefire, Iranians face mounting concerns about their future, with an economy in tatters and fears of growing government control.

"We had some pretty good news 20 minutes ago, but it seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Arizona.

"In Hormuz, there are security challenges that cannot be addressed by political decisions alone," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf asserted that the US "did not win the war with these lies," adding that "they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either.”

A group of around 20 ships, including container ships, bulk carriers, and tankers, was seen moving in the Gulf towards the exit via the Strait of Hormuz, according to ship tracking data.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that ships wanting to cross the Strait will need to do so on the coordinated route announced by the Islamic regime.

The officials recommended that the existing ceasefire between the US and Iran be extended, so as to allow for a more suitable timeframe in which to make the deal. 

As of April 15, Hormuz remains heavily disrupted, the Red Sea remains under credible threat, and both waterways are central to the strategic contest now unfolding.

If there are any winners during the war with Iran, one may be Vladimir Putin, the man Trump has frequently called his “good friend.”