While U.S. President Donald Trump has recently hailed the resumption of oil flows from Gulf allies, Iran, too, appears to be gearing up to resume exports and trading.
At least three tankers carrying some five million barrels of Iranian oil have sailed through the U.S. naval blockade this week, shipping data shows, despite the U.S. military saying its operations against Iran-linked shipping will stay in place until Friday.
The oil market has focused on a deal to end the Iran war which Trump announced on June 14 and is scheduled to be signed on Friday in Switzerland.
“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday. “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said a more expansive agreement would be negotiated during a 60-day ceasefire period.
“The gap between the announcement and the expected signing on June 19 gives both sides scope for issuing conflicting statements on the agreement,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
In terms of ship movements, the Hero II and Diona, very large crude carriers carrying 2 million barrels of oil each, have passed through the Gulf of Oman and are heading for Asia, ship-tracking data from Kpler and Vortexa showed.
The Sonia I, carrying 1 million barrels, has also passed the blockade and is heading to Singapore, Kpler, Vortexa and LSEG data showed.
An empty returning Iranian-linked VLCC, Stream, is sailing back toward the U.S. blockade, according to Kpler and LSEG data, while the partly laden Iranian-flagged Herby supertanker was following close behind, separate LSEG data showed on Wednesday.
“The signal has gone out and they are repositioning in expectation of the end of the U.S. blockade. Clearly, a system reboot is in progress,” said Charlie Brown, senior advisor at U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors Iran-related tanker traffic.
The U.S. military’s Central Command on Wednesday did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Iran-linked tanker movements.
Other vessels are also on the move, with five Iranian-flagged dry bulk and container ships that were anchored off Malaysia’s coast for weeks now sailing back towards Iran, UANI analysis showed.
IRAN EXPORTS AT SIX-YEAR LOW
The U.S. blockade sent Iranian crude exports in May to their lowest level in six years at 260,000 barrels per day, a fraction of 2025’s average of 1.67 million bpd, Kpler data showed.
The memorandum of understanding announced by Trump and set to be signed on Friday calls for the U.S. to allow Iran to immediately begin selling oil and fuel, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday.
Benchmark Brent crude oil futures have already fallen, slipping below $80 this week from highs near $120 a barrel on prospects for a resumption in supply from the Gulf.
That drop could see a return in demand from Iran’s biggest buyer, China, which has been lacklustre amid high prices.
As for non-Iran-related shipping, industry sources said companies are expected to wait for more clarity on the opening of the strait before resuming voyages.
Some 118 tankers carrying cargoes from other Gulf producers remain stuck inside the Gulf, Kpler analysis shows.
“A political agreement may formally reopen the strait, but safe passage must still be proven in practice,” Greece-based shipbroker Intermodal said in a note this week.
(Reporting by Florence Tan, Siyi Liu, Jonathan Saul and Nerijus Adomaitis; editing by Kate Mayberry and Jason Neely)