Tehran on Saturday threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz once more if the United States continues its blockade of Iranian ports, hours after the key waterway was reopened in the wake of a ceasefire deal in Lebanon.

The resumption of transit had lifted stock markets on Friday and prompted optimism from Washington, with U.S. President Donald Trump telling AFP a peace deal was “very close” and saying Iran had agreed to hand over its enriched uranium — a key sticking point in negotiations.

“We’re going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators,” Mr. Trump told a gathering of the conservative Turning Point USA movement in Phoenix, Arizona.– AFP