Iran sends tankers past the US blockade before the deal is formally signed: peace signal, or a gamble before the ink dries?
Three Iranian oil tankers — owned by the US-sanctioned National Iranian Tanker Company — crossed the US naval blockade line in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday and Wednesday, before the US-Iran peace deal is formally signed (expected in Switzerland on Friday). Ship-tracking data confirmed the crossings. Iran appears to be signalling confidence that the deal is effectively done; a maritime intelligence analyst told BBC Verify: 'This is a sign that Iran is confident the blockade is over, even if the US has insisted it will be in place until Friday.' The US naval blockade has already cut Iran's oil exports to less than one-sixth of pre-war levels, costing Tehran an estimated $6 billion in revenues.
The summary above is a neutral framing. Below, each side reports the same story in its own words — judge for yourself.
Three Iranian tankers — Diona, Hero II and Sonia I, all owned by the US-sanctioned National Iranian Tanker Company — crossed the US naval blockade line into the Arabian Sea before the formal deal signing. Two broadcast their locations as they crossed; a third switched on its tracker just past the line. Maritime intelligence analyst Michelle Wiese Bockman told BBC Verify: 'This is a sign that Iran is confident the blockade is over, even if the US has insisted it will be in place until Friday.' The tankers left Chabahar port after Trump announced on Sunday the 'immediate removal' of the blockade of Iranian ports — despite US naval forces saying it would technically remain until a formal memorandum of understanding is signed in Switzerland.
Despite Trump announcing the 'immediate removal' of the blockade of Iranian ports on Sunday, US naval forces confirmed it would remain formally in effect until the deal is signed — expected Friday in Switzerland. The tankers that crossed are owned by the US-sanctioned National Iranian Tanker Company, meaning the ships themselves are also under US sanctions. Al Jazeera reports the blockade has cut Iran's oil exports to less than one-sixth of pre-war levels, costing Tehran close to $6 billion in revenues — a sign that the military pressure campaign was economically effective, and that crossing before the formal signing carries real diplomatic and legal risk for any buyers of the oil.
