Media: US says blockade of Iranian ports could be lifted under shipping deal

The United States would lift its blockade of Iranian ports once an agreement is announced guaranteeing unrestricted commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The official said any U.S. move to lift the blockade would depend on Iran fulfilling its commitments under the agreement.

"Once the deal is announced to ‌restore commercial shipping ⁠without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports," the official told Reuters.

The comments suggest that Washington and Tehran are still negotiating the sequence of steps needed to restore commercial shipping through the strategic waterway. Earlier proposals reportedly considered giving Iran control over vessel traffic entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, but shipping industry sources have said such an arrangement would be difficult to implement.

The United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in June, but Washington reinstated its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf in July. Tehran said the move violated the truce, which had already begun to unravel.

Tensions have continued in the Strait of Hormuz. The United Arab Emirates said on August 8 that Iran had attacked a vessel affiliated with its state oil company. Iran has not immediately commented on the allegation.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has previously attacked or detained ships it accused of attempting to pass through the Strait without Iranian authorisation.

By Sabina Mammadli