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Iranian tankers exit US blockade zone ahead of peace talks
The talks on a final settlement are set to begin Friday at Switzerland's Bürgenstock mountain resort, as news that the Hormuz Strait will reopen sent world oil prices tumbling.
The TankerTrackers website, which monitors oil shipments and storage, marked Iran's "first crude oil exports in two months," citing digital tracking data corroborated 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.
Negotiations over a final deal are to start immediately after the Swiss signing ceremony and continue during a 60-day window, leading to decisions on the fate of Iran's nuclear program and a plan for the lifting of international economic sanctions.
The United States will allow Iran to immediately begin selling oil and fuel under the deal to end the war, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed people familiar with the agreement.
A waiver of sanctions on oil sales will take effect immediately after the signing, the WSJ added, also covering services such as banking, transportation and insurance.
Iranian officials on Tuesday announced that the naval blockade have been removed.
Senior member of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi said that several Iranian ships have already broken through the US naval blockade which has been in place since April 13.
The US imposed the blockade on Iranian ports after Iran closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israeli aggression against Iran on February 28. The closure of the waterway caused the surge in energy prices across the world.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi also said on Tuesday that the two-month US naval blockade on Iranian ports have been lifted.