Middle East live: Iran says Strait of Hormuz will be administered by Tehran

23/06/2026 - 04:43

Asian shares mixed as market rally cools amid Iran uncertainty

Asian shares were mixed in subdued trading early Tuesday, as recent enthusiasm cooled and markets faced uncertainty about efforts to end the war in Iran.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.9% in morning trading to 71,681.29.

"We've had eight days of strong markets. The market was up for about 12.5%, and now it has cooled off a little bit," said Neil Newman, managing director and head of strategy at Astris Advisory Japan.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up less than 0.1% in morning trading at 8,822.10. South Korea's Kospi dipped 2.8% to 8,863.52. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.4% to 23,678.22, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.2% to 4,170.58.

23/06/2026 - 04:03

Iran says Strait of Hormuz will be administered by Tehran

Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that the Strait of Hormuz will be administered by Tehran, state media reported on Tuesday, following talks pushing to end the US-Israeli war on the Islamic republic.

Iran and the United States agreed on Monday to set up communication lines to keep the vital shipping route open and end fighting in Lebanon, mediators said, after their first round of talks in Switzerland toward ending the conflict that has engulfed the Middle East.

"The Strait of Hormuz will never return to its pre-war conditions and will be administered by the Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with international law," Ghalibaf said on his return from the talks, according to IRNA.

In a video posted to Ghalibaf's Telegram account, he said the talks at the luxury Swiss resort of Burgenstock produced "good achievements".

"In my view, this trip had good achievements, especially regarding the discussion of the Strait, the Lebanon discussions, the question of oil waiver, and the matter of releasing the frozen funds," he said.

23/06/2026 - 03:59

Welcome to the France 24 liveblog covering events in the Middle East. Catch up on yesterday's developments here.

Yesterday's key developments:

• The United States temporarily eased sanctions on Iranian oil on Monday after Vice President JD Vance said Tehran had agreed to allow UN nuclear inspectors back into the country.

• US President Donald Trump said Monday that he could refuse to help NATO countries as payback for the lack of support from member nations for the US military operation in Iran.

• Israel's prime minister, defence minister and military chief said the military would continue to act to "neutralise" threats against Israeli soldiers and citizens, demolish militant infrastructure and maintain the security zone in southern Lebanon.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)