US eases Iran port curbs as Hormuz oil traffic resumes under deal

Washington,UPDATED: Jun 18, 2026 22:20 IST

The United States has begun easing restrictions on shipping to Iranian ports under an agreement aimed at ending the war, with Vice President JD Vance saying the US Navy has allowed more than a dozen ships through. He said more oil was now moving through the Strait of Hormuz, with more than 12.5 million barrels passing through the channel on Wednesday night.

Speaking at a White House press briefing on Thursday, Vance said the move was part of the early military steps under the agreement. He also said he plans to travel to Switzerland for talks on the Iran deal, though he added that he did not know when that would happen.

"So we're also honouring our end of the early part of the agreement on the military side," Vance said, presenting it as an immediate benefit of the deal as he pushed back against criticism that the agreement tilts in favour of Iran. In a sharp message to critics in Israel, he warned against "attacking the only powerful ally" it has left. He said members of the Israeli government should understand that "Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time."

Vance had been expected to lead talks on implementing the agreement with Iran, which is aimed at diluting its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and restarting oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. On Tuesday, two oil tankers left Iran and crossed the US military blockade without being stopped. A merchant shipping tracking website said the ships were carrying a combined 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.

Iranian state media said shipping had "normalised" at the country's southern ports, but added that the Strait of Hormuz remained supervised and under the control of the Iranian military and that transits through the waterway still required coordination. Maritime data company Lloyd's List Intelligence said major shipowners had started moving vessels through the strait since the agreement was signed, though it did not give figures for how many ships had passed through by Thursday.

At a media briefing, Lloyd's List editor in chief Richard Meade said that, for the first time in 110 days, ships owned by major companies were transiting the strait after effectively being marooned there since February. According to Lloyd's List, tankers controlled by Grimaldi Group, Cosco, Knutsen and NYK have passed through the strait. It also said two sanctioned crude oil tankers owned by the Iranian Tanker Company and flying the Iranian flag had entered the strait.

Phillip Belcher, marine director of Intertanko, a trade group for global independent tanker owners, said the main central route of the Strait of Hormuz was still closed and that about 80 mines needed to be cleared. However, ships have been using the smaller northern route through Iranian waters and the southern route through Omani waters.

The agreement calls for a permanent end to hostilities and begins a 60-day negotiating period to reach a final deal on the future of Iran's nuclear programme, though Trump has left open the possibility of renewed attacks. It says Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to be buried under rubble, must at a minimum be diluted under international supervision. It also says Iran shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons, a commitment it has made before, while broader talks on its nuclear programme are still to be worked out. In effect, the deal ends hostilities, restarts US-Iran nuclear talks and reopens movement through the Strait of Hormuz.

With PTI Inputs

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