Iranian oil began moving again through one of the world’s most critical chokepoints after the first tankers carrying crude were reported to have broken through a US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz — a development that comes just days before Washington and Tehran sit down to negotiate the contours of a peace deal that remains thin on detail, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and the lifting of sanctions.
A tracking website said the initial departures took place two days ahead of talks on a final settlement scheduled to begin on Friday at Switzerland’s Burgenstock mountain resort, where negotiators are expected to try to turn a framework into a lasting agreement. The prospect of the strait reopening quickly rippled through markets, sending oil prices sharply lower.
Still, hopes that the war sparked by the 28 February US-Israeli strikes on Tehran is nearing an end were tested by new Israeli strikes in south Lebanon.
TankerTrackers, which monitors oil shipments and storage, said Iran had registered its “first crude oil exports in two months,” citing digital tracking data it said was backed up by satellite imagery.
“At least two National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) VLCC supertankers named DIONA (9569695) and HERO2 (9362073) have exited the US Navy blockade perimeter carrying a combined total of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil between them,” TankerTrackers said on X, later adding that a third tanker had exited.
Iran had effectively halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz since February
Officials said negotiations on a final deal are due to begin immediately after a signing ceremony in Switzerland and run through a 60-day window, with the agenda expected to include decisions on Iran’s nuclear programme and a roadmap for lifting international economic sanctions.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that, under the arrangement to end the war, the United States will allow Iran to immediately start selling oil and fuel, citing unnamed people familiar with the agreement.
According to the newspaper, a waiver of sanctions tied to oil sales would take effect right after the signing, and would also apply to services including banking, transportation and insurance.
Oil prices tumble
Even as attention focused on the deal’s rollout, the Israeli military said it struck in south Lebanon after it “identified a suspicious vehicle” near where its soldiers were operating. It also said its forces intercepted rockets and carried out an air strike against a launcher.
Iran’s central military command warned Israel to “await a harsh response.” Lebanon’s state news agency reported that strikes hit two vehicles in the town of Mayfadoun and another in nearby Shukeen, killing four.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the framework agreement has already been signed electronically by US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Iran’s deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
News that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen sent world oil prices tumbling
“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 made on the nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions.”
Traders moved swiftly on expectations tied to renewed flows through Hormuz, pushing the international benchmark Brent North Sea crude down to $78.74 a barrel in Wednesday trading.
Broken commitments
Momentum for an interim deal has been built through weeks of indirect negotiations mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, but officials and analysts say a full agreement addressing Iran’s nuclear ambitions and Western sanctions is still out of reach.
The US and Israel are seeking to remove Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is said to have been buried by US strikes last year, while Iran has maintained that it has a right to enrichment.
Still, the agreed framework has opened the door to negotiations over those core disputes.
Asked at the G7 in France when the text would be made public, Mr Trump said:
“It’s a very powerful document, and I want it to be released. So probably pretty soon.”
Iran’s ultraconservative newspaper Vatan-e Emrooz hailed the agreement as a “Trump surrender document.”
Mr Araghchi, however, signalled less certainty.
“We have a history of broken commitments… we have a history of agreements being torn up. All of this is present in our minds,” he said.
Latest Middle East stories
In a series of interviews aimed at selling the deal, Mr Vance said no US taxpayer money would go to Iran under the arrangement, as Iranian media reported that $12 billion of frozen assets would be released.
Mr Vance told NBC that nuclear inspectors would also be permitted to enter Iran.
Analysts have cautioned that the parallel conflict in Lebanon — where Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah remain locked in confrontation — poses the greatest risk to the diplomatic opening.
Lebanon was drawn into the war in March when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel after the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, triggering Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.
