Oil prices cratered more than $4 per barrel after the US and Iran announced a tentative deal that would immediately restart Iranian oil exports.
The memorandum of understanding, announced around June 14-15 by President Donald Trump alongside Iranian officials including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, calls for an immediate lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports. A formal signing is expected on June 19, kicking off a 60-day negotiation window that will tackle the thornier issues of sanctions relief, up to $25B in frozen Iranian assets, and nuclear program limitations.
What the deal actually does
The headline outcome is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to Iranian oil tankers. That matters because the Strait handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments.
The conflict that led to the blockade began in late February or early March 2026 and had severely disrupted shipping through the Strait. With that pressure now easing, oil prices hit a three-month low almost immediately after the announcement.
