WASHINGTON — The U.S.- Iran interim peace deal took effect and shipping started returning to the Strait of Hormuz as the United States declared an end to its blockade and a complex negotiating period over Tehran’s nuclear program began in earnest.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters at the White House that the 60-day clock for working out the contentious details in the so-called memorandum of understanding signed late Wednesday had starting ticking.
He downplayed concerns Iran could eventually impose tolls on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a move that would turn the crucial transport chokepoint — widely considered international waters — into a money maker for Tehran.
“Well, first of all, we believe international waterways should be free of tolls,” he said, noting that the countries in the region “together will figure out a proper security framework for the straits in the future.”
If the strait is not open, “there’s not going to be a final deal.”
Earlier Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that “oil is flowing,” hours after signing a memorandum of agreement to extend a ceasefire and begin negotiations to end the conflict he started alongside Israel at the end of February. Iran’s closure of the strait spiked energy prices, raised the risk of a global economic crisis, and led to chaos across the Middle East.
U.S. Central Command announced Thursday that it had lifted the blockade on traffic to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas.
“American forces are not impeding the transit of vessels to or from Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” the command said in a social media post. “All U.S. military blockade enforcement efforts have ceased. Our great Naval Ships will remain in the general area to make sure that all aspects of the agreement are adhered to, obeyed and in full force and effect.”
Ships carrying stranded oil began making their way out of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, while Kuwait said it will start ramping up production, as the peace deal sparked a flurry of activity in the region. Vessels carrying nearly 10 million barrels of oil have either appeared outside the strait or are sailing through, including the first Saudi-owned tankers since the war began more than three months ago.
Iran said commercial vessel traffic at southern ports had returned to normal since Monday, according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency.
Many shipping and oil executives had previously said they need more clarity, including on whether the strait is clear of mines and whether they need to seek any kind of permission from Iran before sailing through.
Iran hawks, including some Republican allies of Trump, say the deal concedes far too much to the Islamic Republic in terms of sanctions relief and potentially unfreezing tens of billions of dollars of funds.
“Specifically, the $300 billion fund for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran — though not funded by U.S. taxpayers — would make Iran’s payoff under President Obama’s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison,” Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee said in a statement.
“The Iranian regime has not renounced its ultimate goal — ‘Death to America, Death to Israel.’ The regime will invest every penny it receives to further that aim,” he said.
Asked about reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Cabinet are upset about the deal, Vance suggested officials consider that the United States is Israel’s strongest friend.
“If I was in the Cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,” Vance said. “The problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump, and anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in.”