By Will Weissert and Seung Min Kim
The Associated Press
June 18, 2026 - 9:34 am
WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the U.S. Navy has allowed much than a twelve ships done to Iranian ports, lifting a blockade arsenic portion of an statement to extremity the war.
Vance made the announcement astatine a White House property briefing, wherever helium said much lipid is present flowing done the Strait of Hormuz. The Republican vice president said much than 12.5 cardinal barrels went done the shipping transmission Wednesday night.
“So we’re besides honoring our extremity of the aboriginal portion of the statement connected the subject side,” Vance said, citing it arsenic an contiguous payment of the woody arsenic helium downplayed disapproval that the statement tilts successful favour of Iran.
And successful an bonzer rebuke, helium warned U.S. critics successful Israel against “attacking the lone almighty ally” it has left. He lashed retired astatine members of the Israeli government, informing them that “Donald J. Trump is the lone caput of authorities successful the full satellite who is sympathetic to the federation of Israel astatine this infinitesimal successful time.”
Vance said helium plans to question to Switzerland for talks connected the Iran woody but helium doesn’t cognize erstwhile that volition happen. He had been expected to pb talks connected implementing the statement with Iran aimed astatine diluting its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and restarting lipid postulation done the Strait of Hormuz.
On Tuesday, 2 lipid tankers near Iran and crossed the U.S. subject blockade without being stopped. A merchant shipping tracking website said the ships were carrying a combined full of 3.8 cardinal barrels of Iranian crude oil.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities media said that shipping has “normalized” astatine Iran’s confederate ports but added that the Strait of Hormuz remains supervised and nether the power of the Iranian subject and transiting done the captious waterway inactive requires coordination.
Major shipowners person begun moving vessels done the Strait of Hormuz since the statement was signed, according to maritime information institution Lloyd’s List Intelligence — though they did not springiness information connected however galore ships person passed done the strait arsenic of Thursday.
In a media briefing, Richard Meade, exertion successful main of Lloyd’s List, said for the archetypal clip successful 110 days, ships owned by large companies are transiting the strait aft efficaciously being marooned determination since February.
Tankers controlled by large vessel owners Grimaldi Group, Cosco, Knutsen and NYK person passed done the strait. And 2 Iran-flagged, National Iranian Tanker Company-owned, sanctioned crude lipid tankers person entered the strait, according to Lloyd’s List.
Phillip Belcher, marine manager of Intertanko, a commercialized radical for planetary autarkic tanker owners, said the main cardinal way of the Strait of Hormuz is inactive closed and has an estimated 80 mines that request to beryllium cleared.
But ships person been passing done the smaller Northern route, which goes done Iranian waters, and the Southern route, which goes done Omani waters.
The statement calls for a imperishable extremity to hostilities and starts a 60-day negotiating timepiece to scope a last woody connected the aboriginal of Iran’s atomic program, though Trump near the doorway unfastened to resume attacks. It appears to connection Iran respective benefits up beforehand portion extracting small successful return.
It states that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to beryllium buried nether rubble, indispensable astatine minimum beryllium diluted nether planetary supervision. It besides states that Iran shall not procure oregon make atomic weapons — a committedness it has made previously. But beyond stating that the U.S. and Iran volition negociate implicit Iran’s atomic program, different commitments inactive request to beryllium worked out.
Much of the statement would reconstruct the presumption quo earlier the war, including ending hostilities, restarting talks betwixt the U.S. and Iran implicit Tehran’s atomic program, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the important transition for the world’s lipid and earthy state whose closure created a historical vigor crisis.
English (US)·