Media close to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have criticised the “silence” of Iranian officials over the agreement with the United States to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced the opening of the strait, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed before the US-Israeli war with Iran began on 28 February, Fars and Tasnim news agencies published several articles indirectly criticising the move.
In an article titled “Honourable officials! At least explain your inability to explain,” Fars demanded that Iranian officials justify their “silence” over recent events, writing, “Iranian society has been plunged into a state of confusion.”
“If it is in the country’s interest not to disclose details of recent talks or events, why are these interests and reasons for avoiding transparency not explained to the people?” – said another article published by Fars news agency.
Tasnim news agency also criticised Araqchi, calling its report in X-where the spill was published-“bad, incomplete and totally unsuccessful in terms of information dissemination.”
The message “was published without necessary and sufficient explanations, which created ambiguities about the conditions of passage as well as the details and mechanisms of passage, and attracted much criticism,” the paper said.
Tasnim called on the foreign ministry to “reconsider” its decision.
In another reaction, Nizam Mousavi, a media figure close to the KVIRU and former editor-in-chief of the KVIRU-owned Javan newspaper, published a message in X saying, “the people’s trust in the negotiators does not mean we are ignoring public opinion.”
Addressing Iranian officials, he wrote: “Gentlemen! Say something!”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on 17 April that the Strait of Hormuz would be “fully open” for the duration of the ceasefire agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel.
“According to the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared fully open for the remainder of the ceasefire period along a coordinated route as already announced by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation,” he wrote on the X network.
The decision was welcomed by US President Donald Trump on his Truth social network, who reiterated that Washington and Tehran could reach an agreement to end the war soon.
“Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against peace!” – Trump wrote in the following post.
In another post at Truth Social, Trump said the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports “will remain in full force… Until our agreement with Iran is 100 per cent complete.” The United States imposed the blockade, aimed at preventing ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports, on 13 April.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas is routed, was effectively closed due to US-Israeli air attacks on Iran that began on 28 February and Tehran’s strikes on targets in the Middle East, including ships in the Persian Gulf.