US Vice President Vance announced the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz and the free passage of Iranian ships through it

US Vice President J.D. Vance said that the US Navy allowed more than a dozen ships into Iranian ports, thus effectively lifting the blockade as part of the agreements to end the war. He announced this on Thursday at a briefing at the White House, reports the Associated Press.

More oil is now moving through the Strait of Hormuz, with more than 12.5 million barrels passing through the strait as of Wednesday night, Vance said. The vice president called it fulfillment of the military part of the agreement by the United States and rejected criticism of the deal that it was too favorable to Iran.

Vance also hit out at the deal's critics in Israel, urging them not to "attack the only strong ally" the country has left. He criticized representatives of the Israeli government and said that Donald Trump is the only world leader who now sympathizes with Israel. The vice president added that he plans to travel to Switzerland to negotiate the Iran deal, but does not yet know when that will happen. He was previously expected to lead negotiations to implement the agreement, which includes diluting Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium and restoring tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

As noted, on Tuesday, two tankers left Iran and were not stopped by American sailors - according to the ship tracking service, they were carrying a total of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian oil. At the same time, Iranian state media said that shipping in the country's southern ports had “normalized,” but the Strait of Hormuz remained under the control of the Iranian military, and passage through it required approval. Major shipowners have begun moving ships through the strait for the first time in 110 days, after tankers were effectively blocked there since February, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence. However, the company did not provide exact data on the number of ships passing as of Thursday. The strait's main central route remains closed due to about 80 mines that still need to be cleared, although ships are already taking the northern and southern routes through Iranian and Omani waters, respectively, according to a spokesman for trade group Intertanko.

The agreement calls for a complete cessation of hostilities and begins a 60-day negotiation period to hammer out a final deal on Iran's nuclear program, although Trump has reserved the option to resume strikes. Under the terms of the deal, Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to be buried in the rubble of US-Israeli coalition strikes, would at a minimum be diluted under international supervision, and Iran would pledge not to purchase or develop nuclear weapons, a commitment the country has made before.

The US president and vice president signed a memorandum of understanding with Iranian officials last week, with a formal signing ceremony expected to take place in Switzerland.