Iranian tankers exit US blockade zone ahead of peace talks
Tankers and cargo vessels are seen in the Gulf of Oman, along shipping routes linking the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo)
The first tankers carrying Iranian oil exited a U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a tracking website said on June 16, two days before Washington and Tehran launch talks on an agreed peace deal still scant on details — including Iran's nuclear programme and the lifting of sanctions.
The talks on a final settlement are set to begin Friday at Switzerland's Burgenstock mountain resort, as news that the Hormuz Strait will reopen sent world oil prices tumbling.
Optimism that the war triggered by the February 28 U.S.-Israeli strikes on Tehran might be coming to an end was dented, however, by fresh Israeli strikes on south Lebanon.
