Oliver Smith
Senior business producer

Early indications are that commercial ships in and around the Gulf won’t be in any rush to travel through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the Iranian foreign minister’s declaration that it is “completely open”.

One oil and gas tanker operator, which did want to be named, told the BBC the Iranian statement “doesn’t change anything” for now.

“We don’t feel like we need to be taking unnecessary risks, and our company approach is that we won’t be the first to go through the strait,” it said.

Another company, Stena Bulk, which operates oil tankers in the region says it is “monitoring developments closely.”

It says: “The safety of our crew and vessels governs every routing decision, and we will not transit until we are satisfied it is safe to do so.”

International Maritime Organization 'currently verifying' Iranian announcementpublished at 17:00

Jonathan Josephs
Business reporter

The head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is trying to understand the details behind Iran’s commitment to reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Even with the fighting on pause there is significant US and Iranian military presence in the area, and as tensions remain heightened there is an ongoing risk to the safety of ships and their crews.

The IMO’s secretary general Arsenio Dominguez has been at the UK - France summit in Paris and has been looking at how to reopen the important shipping route.

He has posted on X saying: “We are currently verifying the recent announcement related to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, in terms of its compliance with freedom of navigation for all merchant vessels and secure passage using the IMO established traffic separation scheme.”