U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the U.S. Navy has allowed greater than a dozen ships through to Iranian ports, lifting a blockade as a part of an agreement to finish the war.
Vance made the announcement at a White House press briefing, where he said more oil is now flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Republican vice chairman said greater than 12.5 million barrels went through the shipping channel Wednesday night.
“So we’re also honoring our end of the early a part of the agreement on the military side,” Vance said, citing it as a right away good thing about the deal as he downplayed criticism that the agreement tilts in favor of Iran.
And in a unprecedented rebuke, he warned U.S. critics in Israel against “attacking the one powerful ally” it has left. He lashed out at members of the Israeli government, warning them that “Donald J. Trump is the one head of state in the complete world who’s sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.”
Vance said he plans to travel to Switzerland for talks on the Iran deal but he doesn’t know when that may occur. He had been expected to steer talks on implementing the agreement with Iran aimed toward 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 U.S. military blockade without being stopped. A merchant shipping tracking website said the ships were carrying a combined total of three.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.
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Meanwhile, Iranian state media said that shipping has “normalized” at Iran’s southern ports but added that the Strait of Hormuz stays supervised and under the control of the Iranian military and transiting through the vital waterway still requires coordination.
Major shipowners have begun moving vessels through the Strait of Hormuz because the agreement was signed, based on maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence — though they didn’t give data on what number of ships have passed through the strait as of Thursday.
In a media briefing, Richard Meade, editor in chief of Lloyd’s List, said for the primary time in 110 days, ships owned by major corporations are transiting the strait after effectively being marooned there since February.
Tankers controlled by major ship owners Grimaldi Group, Cosco, Knutsen and NYK have passed through the strait. And two Iran-flagged, National Iranian Tanker Company-owned, sanctioned crude oil tankers have entered the strait, based on Lloyd’s List.
Phillip Belcher, marine director of Intertanko, a trade group for global independent tanker owners, said the principal central route of the Strait of Hormuz remains to be closed and has an estimated 80 mines that have to be cleared.
But ships have been passing through the smaller Northern route, which works through Iranian waters, and the Southern route, which works through Omani waters.
The agreement calls for a everlasting end to hostilities and starts a 60-day negotiating clock to achieve a final deal on the long run of Iran’s nuclear program, though Trump left the door open to resume attacks. It appears to supply Iran several advantages up front while extracting little in return.
It states that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried under rubble, must at minimum be diluted under international supervision. It also states that Iran shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons — a commitment it has made previously. But beyond stating that the U.S. and Iran will negotiate over Iran’s nuclear program, other commitments still have to be worked out.
Much of the agreement would restore the established order before the war, including ending hostilities, restarting talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial passage for the world’s oil and natural gas whose closure created a historic energy crisis.
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