Iran Partially Reopens Strait of Hormuz After Ceasefire

Iran permitted partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz after a ceasefire agreement with the United States took effect on 8 April. Commercial traffic has resumed at reduced levels while Iranian authorities continue to require permits for passage. The BBC visited Bandar Abbas, the Iranian port city on the strait, and observed two container ships seized by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in April still anchored offshore.

The MSC Francesca, flagged to Panama, and the Epaminondas, flagged to Liberia, have not been released despite the ceasefire.

Local fishermen have returned to the water after months when the area was considered too dangerous. One fisherman, Abdol Rahman, took BBC reporters through the strait and pointed out the seized vessels and the old Portuguese fortress on Hormuz Island.

Shops in Bandar Abbas have reopened and traffic has returned to the streets. The city's market, which handles goods arriving by sea, is operating again.

An apartment building on Khushnoodi Street was struck by an Israeli missile on 26 March. Half the structure collapsed, killing three people including one military officer, according to Iran's Fars news agency and local resident accounts. Data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project recorded at least 96 separate U.S. strikes in and around Bandar Abbas between 28 February and 8 April.

More than a third targeted military infrastructure.

Abbas mayor Mehdi Nobani told the BBC that neither the United States nor Israel had achieved regime change. He said any breakdown of the ceasefire would prompt Iran to close the strait completely. Residents interviewed in the market described economic hardship and fear during the conflict.