US Ends Hormuz Blockade, Downplays Tolls as Negotiations Restart

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“Specifically, the $300 billion fund for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran – though not funded by U.S. taxpayers – would make Iran’s payoff under President Obama’s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison,” Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee said in a statement. 

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“The Iranian regime has not renounced its ultimate goal — ‘Death to America, Death to Israel.’ The regime will invest every penny it receives to further that aim,” he said. 

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Asked about reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet are upset about the deal, Vance suggested officials consider that the US is Israel’s strongest friend. 

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“If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,” Vance said. “The problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump, and anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the President of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in.”

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According to a copy of the memorandum of understanding published by Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on X on Thursday, Iran will arrange passage of commercial ships through the strait with “no charge for 60 days only” and traffic is to be reinstated “within 30 days.”

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Iran will hold talks with Oman to define the future administration and maritime services of the Strait of Hormuz, which will be in line with “applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states” of the Persian Gulf, according to the agreement.

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It was unclear if Vance would still meet Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s lead negotiator, in Switzerland on Friday for negotiations to permanently end the war as planned. He said the US had met it primary objectives for the conflict and suggested it could only benefit from the deal as agreed.  

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“Iran is weakened, their nuclear program destroyed, their economy in desperate straits, and if they change their behavior, big things are going to happen for Iran and for the world,” he said. “If they don’t, no skin off our backs — either way, we win. And that’s the way the president has set up this deal and this negotiation.”

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Oil fell further on Thursday, with Brent dropping 2.5% to $77.55 a barrel as of 12:38 p.m. in New York. It’s down from close to $95 since Trump said late last week that a deal was imminent.

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Still, oil remains roughly 30% higher for the year, with energy traders saying it will take months, if not longer, for volumes of oil and liquefied natural gas going through Hormuz to return to normal.

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During the 60-day negotiation, the sides will try to agree on restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program and how to dilute or destroy its stocks of highly enriched uranium. Many nuclear experts say 60 days is too short to work out something so complex and technical. The agreement does say the time frame can be extended.

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The 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump derided and abandoned during his first term, took about two years to finalize. 

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Israel and the US said the conflict was necessary to prevent Iran acquiring atomic weapons. The Islamic Republic has always denied wanting to do that, though it has raised the suspicions of many governments by enriching uranium far beyond the levels needed for nuclear power plants.

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While Iran’s economy has been battered by the war and some of its most senior leaders killed, its ruling regime remains entrenched. The Iranian military proved able to inflict plenty of damage on the US and allies such as the United Arab Emirates by firing thousands of drones and missiles across the region.