{"id":2364,"date":"2026-06-19T19:34:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T19:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2364"},"modified":"2026-06-19T19:34:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T19:34:45","slug":"u-s-lifts-blockade-of-iran-and-iranian-supreme-leader-endorses-direct-talks-with-american-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2364","title":{"rendered":"U.S. lifts blockade of Iran and Iranian supreme leader endorses direct talks with American officials"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The U.S. on Thursday lifted its blockade of Iran, and oil tankers began freely moving through the Strait of Hormuz after months of being unable to use the critical channel, as the tentative agreement to end the war took effect.<\/p>\n

Read more Arizona prosecutors dismiss fake elector case but vow to seek new indictment<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance announced that he may postpone a trip to Switzerland that had been planned for Friday and included a ceremonial signing of the deal. The visit might have helped start talks on the next, potentially even more critical, round of negotiations between the two sides.<\/p>\n

Hours later, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtab Khamenei endorsed direct negotiations with the U.S. in a statement read by state media. It was Khamenei\u2019s first reaction to the deal recently reached between Iran and the U.S. to end hostilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is obvious that the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy\u2019s opinion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The supreme leader has not been seen in public since he was wounded in a strike at the start of the war.<\/p>\n

Uncertain timeline could make it more difficult to promote deal<\/h3>\n

The now uncertain timeline could raise new questions and make it even more difficult for the Trump administration to promote a deal that many in the U.S. \u2014 including some congressional Republicans \u2014 have criticized as too favorable to Tehran.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur plan is to go to Switzerland. I don\u2019t know exactly when,\u201d Vance said during a briefing with reporters at the White House when asked about not flying, as planned, to the signing ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suspect this weekend, but I\u2019m not sure,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

That injected new doubt into an agreement that President Donald Trump said he signed to avoid \u201ceconomic catastrophe\u201d in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Vance\u2019s announcement came a day after Trump signed the pact with Iran while dining with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles. The deal is slated to take immediate effect and extend a ceasefire while giving each side 60 days to hammer out broader agreements on larger issues.<\/p>\n

Trump said the deal would avoid continued stress on the U.S. economy after the war caused oil prices to skyrocket, made financial markets skittish and fueled inflation. He repeatedly said he did not want to be compared to Herbert Hoover, whose policies helped exacerbate the Great Depression of the 1930s.<\/p>\n

Vance defends U.S.-Iran deal<\/h3>\n

The vice president, who was initially personally skeptical of the U.S. going to war with Iran, has increasingly become the administration\u2019s face of the conflict and has been outspoken in defending the deal. Asked about concerns it concedes too much, the vice president said repeatedly that the accord would force Iran to \u201cchange their behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly before Vance said his trip was being delayed, Pakistan said it was postponing a visit by its top officials to Switzerland\u2019s resort near Lucerne, where Islamabad was to host the signing ceremony. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and top officials had been set to make the trip, but officials said that a ceremonial signing became less urgent after both sides had already signed.<\/p>\n

Vance defended the agreement and shrugged off accusations that its rollout has been piecemeal and sometimes contradictory, saying, \u201cI don\u2019t think our public messaging has been chaotic.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also offered a surprisingly blunt warning to Israel, which has pushed the U.S. to take a harder stance against Iran and launched attacks on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon throughout the war, including just before the deal extending the ceasefire was reached. Those attacks complicated the peace efforts with Iran.<\/p>\n

Trump \u201cis the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time,\u201d Vance said. \u201cAnd he happens to be the head of state of the world\u2019s superpower.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vice president said more than 12.5 million barrels went through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday night. That could further soothe oil prices that spiked during the war but have been falling since the U.S. and Iran announced a tentative deal to end the conflict.<\/p>\n

Read more Man arrested after dogs left starving in crates at Phoenix apartment complex<\/a><\/p>\n

He said the U.S. easing its blockade of Iran means \u201chonoring our end of the early part of the agreement on the military side.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Central Command said American warships \u201cwill remain in the general area to make sure that all aspects of the agreement are adhered to, obeyed and in full force and effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shipping starts to pick up<\/h3>\n

At least 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 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.<\/p>\n

Iranian state media said shipping had \u201cnormalized\u201d at Iran\u2019s southern ports but added that the strait remains supervised and under the control of the Iranian military, and transiting through the vital waterway still requires coordination.<\/p>\n

Major shipowners began moving vessels through the strait after the agreement was signed, according to maritime data company Lloyd\u2019s List Intelligence, though Lloyd\u2019s did not give data on how many ships have passed through the strait as of Thursday.<\/p>\n

In a media briefing, Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of Lloyd\u2019s List, said for the first time in 110 days, ships owned by major companies are transiting the strait after effectively being marooned there since February.<\/p>\n

Tankers controlled by major ship owners Grimaldi Group, Cosco, Knutsen and NYK have passed through the strait. And two Iranian-flagged, sanctioned crude oil tankers owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company have entered the strait, according to Lloyd\u2019s List.<\/p>\n

Phillip Belcher, marine director of Intertanko, a trade group for global independent tanker owners, said the main central route of the strait is still closed and has an estimated 80 mines that need to be cleared.<\/p>\n

But ships have been passing through the smaller northern route, which goes through Iranian waters, and the southern route, which goes through Omani waters.<\/p>\n

Agreement calls for a lasting end to hostilities<\/h3>\n

The U.S.-Iran deal calls for a permanent end to hostilities and starts a 60-day negotiating clock to reach a final deal on the future of Iran\u2019s nuclear program, though Trump has left the door open to resuming attacks. The agreement appears to offer Iran several benefits up front while extracting little in return.<\/p>\n

It states that Iran\u2019s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried under rubble, must, at minimum, be diluted under international supervision. It also says that Iran shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons \u2014 a commitment it has made previously. But beyond stating that the U.S. and Iran will negotiate over Iran\u2019s nuclear program, other commitments still need to be worked out.<\/p>\n

The deal also waives U.S.-backed sanctions on the country, immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from Washington.<\/p>\n

Still, Kaja Kallas, the European Union\u2019s foreign policy chief, said Thursday that the 27-nation bloc would leave its sanctions on Iran in place for now. The bloc had slapped a series of separate sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, human rights violations and the closing of the strait.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the conditions allow, of course, member states will discuss whether the lifting of sanctions is in place, but we are not there yet,\u201d Kallas said ahead of a summit of EU leaders in Brussels.<\/p>\n

Read more Multiple people hospitalized after fiery hot air balloon crash in Pahrump<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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