Trump: Strait of Hormuz is Open, But Maritime Blockade Against Iran Will Remain Fully Operational

On April 17, Trump told NewsNation that Iran had agreed to “everything.” Iran has agreed to refrain from closing the Strait of Hormuz—ending its use as a weapon against the world—and halt uranium enrichment. As of press time, European natural gas prices have dropped 10% (on the heels of a 12%-plus slide in crude oil) following Trump’s comments on the Strait of Hormuz.

April 17: U.S. President Trump said Iran has agreed not to block the Strait of Hormuz, adding it will no longer be used as a weapon against the world. Trump told NewsNation Iran has agreed to halt uranium enrichment. Axios reporters noted the U.S. and Iran have made progress in negotiations on a three-page memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the conflict.

April 17 — Bitcoin topped $78,000, per HTX market data, posting a 5.58% gain over the past 24 hours.

April 17th — The Information reports that Chinese AI firm DeepSeek is planning its first external financing, targeting a valuation of over $10 billion. This marks a shift from its previous self-developed model to bringing in outside capital. The round will be DeepSeek’s first large-scale external fundraising since its launch. Previously, the company relied mainly on parent company resources, with its valuation hitting roughly $3.4 billion in 2025. If the financing closes, the valuation will jump multiple times. In recent years, DeepSeek has surged with low-cost, high-performance open-source large language models (LLMs). Its model training costs are far below the industry’s mainstream level, while performance matches top U.S. models — shaking up the global AI competitive landscape. Market analysts say this move signals DeepSeek’s push to accelerate commercialization and global expansion, and reflects the capital market’s reassessment of the "low-cost AI path." As AI competition

April 17 International gold prices surged sharply Wednesday, driven by easing Middle East tensions and rebounding expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. Spot gold climbed nearly 2% intraday, approaching the $4,900-per-ounce mark. On the news front: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the Strait of Hormuz will remain open during the ceasefire, easing market fears of energy supply disruptions. That pushed oil prices lower alongside a weaker U.S. dollar (greenback). Donald Trump also voiced optimism about reaching a conflict resolution deal. Analysts note the oil price pullback is helping ease inflationary pressures, reigniting bets on Fed rate cuts. Traders now peg a 60% chance of a rate cut by year-end. Institutional views: A weaker greenback plus rate-cut expectations directly support gold. Short-term prices could break above $5,000, they say. Separately, policy uncertainty has led some Indian banks to suspend gold import orders, leaving several tons of the m

On April 17th, U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran has removed or is in the process of removing all sea mines with assistance from the United States.