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Tankers cross blockade line
Three Iranian tankers loaded with crude oil passed the U.S. blockade line in the Gulf of Oman, with ship-tracking data showing Diona, Hero II and Sonia I crossing while the U.S. naval forces confirmed the blockade would remain in effect until the deal with Iran was signed in Switzerland on Friday.
“According to Washington, the delay in issuing the document also depends on the internal Iranian dynamics”
BBC Verify reported that two tankers were broadcasting their locations as they crossed and a third appeared to switch on its location tracker just past the line, and Windward Maritime Intelligence analyst Michelle Wiese Bockman said it was "a sign that Iran is confident the blockade is over, even if the US has insisted it will be in place until Friday."
The BBC also said the three Iran-flagged tankers are all owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, and that the three ships are carrying a combined total of 3.8 million barrels of crude oil.
In a separate account, Anadolu Ajansı said at least three Iranian oil tankers and two cargo ships carrying essential goods broke through the U.S. naval blockade following the memorandum of understanding, and it cited Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency saying the first Iranian ships crossed "without obstruction" for the first time after the deal.
Agenzia Nova reported that a third tanker affiliated with the National Iranian Tanker Company, carrying about one million barrels of Iranian crude, crossed the area under U.S. Navy control at 01:11 GMT (03:11 a.m. Central European Time) and said two other Iranian tankers, Diona and Hero 2, carrying 3.8 million barrels of oil, left the blockade area the day before.
Deal timing and conditions
CBS News said the memorandum of understanding outlining the framework has been signed electronically by both sides, with a signing ceremony expected on Friday, and it described Iran’s Revolutionary Guard saying the country will receive half of its roughly $24 billion in long-frozen funds before final negotiations begin during a 60-day ceasefire extension.
CBS also reported that Israeli officials said the country is not bound by the to end its fight with Hezbollah or to pull its forces out of Lebanon, while President Trump, Pakistani mediators and Iran said the deal includes a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said senior U.S. officials disclosed details of the framework deal set to be officially signed in Switzerland on June 19, and it quoted a senior U.S. official saying, "This is fundamentally an agreement that allows us to open the Strait of Hormuz immediately, commits the Iranians to destroying the nuclear stockpile, and then gives us a dial."
RFE/RL added that the text read out on a background call on June 17 said the two sides commit, after signing, to agreeing to a final settlement in 60 days that includes limits to Iran’s nuclear program and the removal of U.S. sanctions.
In contrast, Agenzia Nova said Tehran asserts the memorandum of understanding provides for the immediate lifting of the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports for about two months, and it described the crossing of the oil tankers over the blockade line as the first sign of a loosening of restrictions on oil trade in the country.
Stakes for shipping and sanctions
BBC reported that the U.S. blockade has cut Iran’s crude exports to the lowest amount in six years at 260,000 barrels per day in May, less than a fifth of the 2025 average of 1.67 million barrels per day, citing data from Kpler.
It also said the blockade has been enforced even as BBC Verify previously covered American forces intercepting Iran-linked vessels in the Indian Ocean, and it noted that the U.S. blockade stretches from the eastern tip of Oman to the coast of Iran.
CNN’s account in Agenzia Nova said American negotiators downplay the importance of the Iranian agreement text and believe that "secret agreements are more important," while it said the memorandum of understanding does not exceed a page and a half and includes deliberately vague phrases to create favorable conditions for technical negotiations.
A separate BBC passage quoted Michelle Wiese Bockman again, saying the apparent tanker movements suggest Iran is confident the blockade is over even if the U.S. insists it remains until Friday, and it tied the expected reopening to ship-tracking data and the planned signing in Switzerland.
Meanwhile, CNBC said the maritime sector is treating the news with "wary disbelief" rather than celebration, and it quoted Tim Wilkins of Intertanko saying the U.S. Navy reminded industry that "nothing has changed and will not until the agreement is signed," keeping the practical stakes centered on whether transits through the Strait of Hormuz will resume safely after the ceremony.
