WASHINGTON \u2014 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\u2019s nuclear program began in earnest.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He downplayed concerns Iran could eventually impose tolls on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a move that would turn the crucial transport chokepoint \u2014 widely considered international waters \u2014 into a money maker for Tehran.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, first of all, we believe international waterways should be free of tolls,\u201d he said, noting that the countries in the region \u201ctogether will figure out a proper security framework for the straits in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the strait is not open, \u201cthere\u2019s not going to be a final deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that \u201coil is flowing,\u201d 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\u2019s closure of the strait spiked energy prices, raised the risk of a global economic crisis, and led to chaos across the Middle East.<\/p>\n
U.S. Central Command announced Thursday that it had lifted the blockade on traffic to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican forces are not impeding the transit of vessels to or from Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,\u201d the command said in a social media post. \u201cAll 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Iran said commercial vessel traffic at southern ports had returned to normal since Monday, according to the semi-official Iranian Students\u2019 News Agency.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpecifically, the $300 billion fund for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran \u2014 though not funded by U.S. taxpayers \u2014 would make Iran\u2019s payoff under President Obama\u2019s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison,\u201d Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Iranian regime has not renounced its ultimate goal \u2014 \u2018Death to America, Death to Israel.\u2019 The regime will invest every penny it receives to further that aim,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s strongest friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf 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,\u201d Vance said. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S.- Iran interim peace deal took effect and shipping started returning to the Strait of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[28],"tags":[2695,328,38,102,1096,2440,42,261,101],"class_list":["post-167074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-strait-of-hormuz","tag-attack-on-iran","tag-business","tag-donald-trump","tag-hormuz","tag-jd-vance","tag-latest-headlines","tag-news","tag-oil-prices","tag-strait-of-hormuz"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116773505127877020","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}