Washington and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire in June, but the US reimposed a blockade on Iranian shipping in the gulf in July, a move that Tehran said violated the truce, which by then had already broken down.
“Once the deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports,” the US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
US actions would be tied to Iran’s implementation of its commitments, the official said. The US comments indicated delicate sequencing towards a deal that sources had told Reuters appeared to be set to give Tehran control over vessel traffic entering the gulf through the strait, which shippers have said was not easily workable.
The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that Iran had attacked a ship affiliated with its state oil company. There was no immediate comment from Iran, whose Revolutionary Guard Corps previously has attacked ships that it said tried to cross the strait without Iranian permission.