US has lifted blockade on all maritime traffic entering, exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas: CENTCOM

WASHINGTON: The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Thursday that it had lifted the blockade of Iran's ports and coastal areas with traffic open for all vessels after the signing of a memorandum between the US and Iran.

In a post on X, CENTCOM said: "Today, US forces lifted the blockade on all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas, in accordance with the President's direction. American forces are not impeding the transit of vessels to or from Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. All US military blockade enforcement efforts have ceased. Our great naval ships will remain in the general area to make sure that all aspects of the agreement are adhered to, obeyed and in full force and effect."

Vance criticises Israel 'freakout' over Iran deal

United States Vice ​President JD Vance criticised Israel for a "weird panic" and "freakout" over the agreement struck between the US ‌and Iran, in an interview released on Thursday as the Trump administration sought to tamp down criticism of the deal.

Israeli officials across the political spectrum, including some of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's allies, have criticised the agreement, saying it did not address their concerns over Iran’s nuclear ​and ballistic missile programmes and would tie down Israel's military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"There ​is this weird panic almost in the Israeli system that I’ve picked up on where ⁠they assume that everything that is contemplated that is good for Iran will happen — but that will happen without ​the Iranians changing any behaviour," Vance said in an interview with the New York Times.

"That's not how the deal is written."

The ​US would not remove sanctions on Iran if it were still funding a terrorist organisation, he said, in an apparent reference to Hezbollah, which Washington has long labelled a foreign terrorist organisation.

Vance accused Israel of a lack of trust in its ​strongest ally.

"I find this whole freakout in Israel a little bit odd because I think that it comes from a ​place of mistrust, and I think that America has earned the trust of that region of the world," Vance said.

"We’ve done a ‌very good ⁠job by that particular country and that particular government," he said of Israel. "And I think that the idea that we’ve made a terrible deal is not supported by the facts, but just doesn’t make any sense if you consider the broad length of the relationship."

Citing specific critics of the deal — far-right Israeli cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich — Vance said: "I guess my response to them would be: What is your exact proposal? You’re a country of nine million people. You can’t just kill your ⁠way out ​of solving every single national security problem that you have."

Ben-Gvir responded in ​a post on X: "This is the proposal, JD Vance: To deal with the Nazis of the 21st century, just as the United States dealt with the Nazis ​of the 20th century."

Trump says critics of his Iran deal are 'jealous, bad people, or stupid'

Earlier, US President Donald Trump wrote a Truth Social post slamming everyone who, in his words, believed he wasn't "tough enough on Iran".

Calling them out as "fools", he drew attention to the stock market hitting "a record high" and oil prices "'tumbling'" down, going on to say that these individuals were "either jealous, bad people, or stupid".

His comments come as US Democratic lawmakers have voiced scepticism towards the deal.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, said during remarks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC that she hasn’t seen the actual text of the MOU, calling the reported text a “full capitulation”

"The devil is in the details, and so far we haven't gotten a real signed agreement. That's why I would urge the president and the White House to release the agreement, whatever it is, as soon as possible to Congress...Based on the scorecard I'm keeping, I don't see what the wins are," she said.

Senior House Democrats also demanded a briefing on the agreement, with Representatives Gregory Meeks, Adam Smith and Jim Himes — ranking members of the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence committees — sending a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"For more than 15 weeks, the Administration left Congress and the American people in the dark about a war of choice that has proved to be a strategic failure," the lawmakers wrote, citing 14 service members killed and disrupted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

"While we welcome the Administration's turn toward diplomacy and its decision to end this war of choice, the Administration must provide Congress with greater details about the MoU, any side agreements, and the Administration's plan and strategy for the 60-day ceasefire period; including its approach to sanctions relief, Iran's nuclear program, and reported economic and reconstruction funds," they added.

The letter posed seven questions to Rubio, including whether the administration is complying with the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, how Iran's nuclear compliance will be monitored, what was agreed on Lebanon, whether limits exist on Iran's ballistic missile program, and how much the US has committed to the reported $300 billion reconstruction fund.

Representative Pramila Jayapal, D-WA, released a video message on the US social media platform X demanding answers on the MOU, saying that the deal leaves the US worse off than before the war.

"The Strait of Hormuz apparently is now going to be open after 30 days. Well, guess what? It was open before the war started...We are literally going back to a position that is worse than when we started," she said.