Iranian tankers exit US blockade zone ahead of peace talks

TEHRAN – According to a monitoring service, the first Iranian oil tankers departed the U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, two days ahead of scheduled talks between Washington and Tehran concerning a tentative peace agreement that remains vague on issues such as Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief.

The final settlement negotiations are slated to commence Friday at Switzerland’s Burgenstock mountain resort, coinciding with reports that the reopening of the Hormuz Strait triggered a drop in global oil prices.

Initial optimism that the conflict sparked by the February 28 U.S.–Israeli strikes on Tehran might be waning was undermined by renewed Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon.

The TankerTrackers website, which tracks oil shipments and storage, reported Iran’s first crude oil exports in two months, supported by digital tracking data verified via satellite imagery.

TankerTrackers reported that at least two National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) Very Large Crude Carrier supertankers, DIONA (IMO 9569695) and HERO2 (IMO 9362073), left the U.S. Navy blockade zone, collectively transporting 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude; the organization later indicated that a third tanker also departed.

Officials said that negotiations on the final agreement will commence immediately after the Swiss signing ceremony and will proceed over a 60‑day period, focusing on Iran’s nuclear program and the eventual removal of international economic sanctions.

The United States will permit Iran to begin selling oil and fuel immediately under the agreement to end the conflict, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the arrangement.

The sanctions waiver on oil sales will take effect instantly after signing and will also encompass services including banking, transportation, and insurance, the Journal reported.

Some conservative senators have voiced concerns about the peace deal, with Senate Republicans reportedly seeking the agreement’s text and briefings from the Trump administration.

‘Let’s examine it and see what it actually is,’ Senate Majority Leader John Thune was quoted as saying in the Journal.

Crude Oil Prices Decline

Even with the deal announcement, the Israeli military said it carried out a strike in southern Lebanon after identifying a suspicious vehicle near its troops, intercepted rockets, and conducted an airstrike on a launcher.

Iran’s central military command warned Israel to expect a harsh response to the strikes, which Lebanon’s state news agency reported targeted two vehicles—one in Mayfadoun and another in Shukeen—resulting in four deaths.

A senior U.S. official, speaking anonymously, said the framework agreement had already been signed electronically by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Iran’s deputy foreign minister Majid Takht‑Ravanchi, and lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

‘Likely on Friday… a new round of negotiations between Iran and the United States to reach a final agreement will begin,’ Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

‘In the final agreement, decisions will be taken on nuclear matters and the lifting of sanctions.’

Optimism regarding the reopening of the Hormuz Strait drove Brent North Sea crude down to $78.74 per barrel in Wednesday trading, while the primary U.S. contract, West Texas Intermediate, stood at $75.85 per barrel.

Compromises and Unmet Expectations

Weeks of indirect negotiations mediated by Pakistan and Qatar have generated momentum for an interim arrangement, yet a comprehensive deal addressing Iran’s nuclear ambitions and Western sanctions remains elusive.

The United States and Israel are pressing Iran to eliminate its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, reportedly buried by U.S. strikes last year, while Iran maintains its right to enrichment.

The agreed framework, however, has opened the way for discussions on these key disputes.

When asked at the G7 summit in France when the document would be released, Trump replied: ‘It’s a very powerful document, and I want it released soon.’

Iran’s ultraconservative newspaper Vatan‑e Emrooz hailed the agreement as a ‘Trump surrender document.’

Araghchi, however, struck a more cautious note.

‘We have a history of broken commitments … and agreements being torn up. All of this is fresh in our minds,’ he said.

In a series of interviews aimed at promoting the deal, Vance asserted that no U.S. taxpayer money would go to Iran, as Iranian media reported that $12 billion of frozen assets would be released.

Vance told NBC that nuclear inspectors would also be permitted to enter Iran.

Analysts have warned that the ongoing conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Iran‑backed Hezbollah poses the greatest threat to the diplomatic thaw.

Lebanon entered the war in March when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel following the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.

That theater of conflict could become ‘the biggest ultimate spoiler’ of the forthcoming negotiations, said Ross Harrison, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

Source link