President Donald Trump said he planned to maintain a US blockade of Iranian ports if a peace deal with Tehran is not reached, adding that he may not extend the ceasefire after its expiration.
Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz on Friday in the wake of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon, though Tehran threatened to close the vital waterway once again if the US blockade continues.
A ceasefire between Tehran and Washington is due to expire on Wednesday.
"Maybe I won't extend it, but the blockade is going to remain," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, when asked if the ceasefire will be extended.
Asked about a potential deal, Trump said, "I think it's going to happen."
Key differences remain between the demands from the United States and Iran, which earlier failed to reach agreement in talks in Pakistan.
Trump told reporters there were "not going to be tolls" imposed by Iran on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz -- something that the Islamic republic put forward during previous peace deal plans.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said China's President Xi Jinping was "very happy" about the global oil chokepoint reopening.
"Our meeting in China will be a special one and, potentially, Historic," Trump added, referring to a summit planned in Beijing in May.
Trump also insisted that Washington and Tehran would jointly transfer enriched uranium stored in Iran to the United States under the touted plan to end the war, which began on February 28.
Iran's foreign ministry earlier said its stockpile of uranium would not be transferred "anywhere."
The resumption of transit had lifted stock markets on Friday and prompted optimism from Washington, with US 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," Trump told a gathering of the conservative Turning Point USA movement in Phoenix, Arizona.
Iran, however, pushed back on the claim, saying its stockpile of enriched uranium was not going anywhere.
It also warned that if US warships interdict vessels coming from Iranian ports, the Strait of Hormuz -- a key global artery through which a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes -- could be closed again.
"With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open," parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X, adding that passage through the waterway would require authorization from Iran.
"The opening and closing of the Strait of Hormuz, does not take place on internet, it is determined in the field, and our armed forces certainly know how to behave in response to any action by the other side," said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.
"What they call a naval blockade will definitely be met with an appropriate response from Iran. A naval blockade is a violation of the ceasefire and Iran will definitely take the necessary measures."
The sour notes came on a day that Trump had hailed as "GREAT AND BRILLIANT," with a series of social media posts praising talks mediator Pakistan and Gulf allies, while telling NATO to "STAY AWAY" as he rejected the alliance's offer to help secure the strait.
In his phone interview with AFP, Trump added: "Looks like it's going to be very good for everybody. And we're very close to having a deal," adding that there were "no sticking points at all" left with Tehran.
Fragile gains
Oil prices had already been falling on hopes of a negotiated end to the conflict, and the drop accelerated on Friday, with stocks heading upwards as traders drank in the optimism.
Late Friday, the US issued another waiver allowing the sale of Russian oil and petroleum products already at sea, a move likely to further soften oil prices as it increases supply.
The ceasefire in Lebanon and the reopening of the strait marked key progress in Washington's push for a broader deal to end its war with Iran, after Tehran insisted that halting the Lebanon fighting must be part of any agreement.
In Lebanon, displaced families used the 10-day truce to return to homes in bomb-damaged south Beirut and the war-ravaged south.
"Our feelings are indescribable, pride and victory," 37-year-old Amani Atrash told AFP, adding that she hoped the ceasefire would be extended.
Trump said Israel had been "prohibited" by Washington from carrying out further strikes.
"Enough is enough!" he said, adding that the United States would work with Lebanon "and deal with the Hezbollah situation in an appropriate manner."
Truce under strain
The fighting in Lebanon began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel days after the wider Middle East war began and in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Separately, the Israeli military said it was lifting wartime restrictions, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the campaign against Hezbollah was not over.
"We have not yet finished the job," he said, adding that a key objective was the "dismantling of Hezbollah."
Israel warned that military action could resume if the area between the security zone and the Litani River is not cleared of Hezbollah fighters, while Lebanese President Joseph Aoun insisted his country would no longer serve as an arena for outside conflicts.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, warned it remained ready to respond to any Israeli violations.
