The first Iranian oil tankers in two months have slipped out of a US Navy blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, tracking data shows, as the world braces for Friday's peace talks between Washington and Tehran.

TankerTrackers, a monitoring website, reported that at least two National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) supertankers — the DIONA and HERO2 — left the blockade carrying a combined 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude. A third tanker has also exited, the site said.

This breakthrough comes just days before US and Iranian officials are set to sign a framework peace deal at Switzerland's Burgenstock mountain resort on Friday. Negotiations on a final agreement — covering Iran's nuclear programme and the lifting of international sanctions — will begin immediately after the signing and run for 60 days.

News of the Hormuz reopening sent global oil prices tumbling. Brent crude fell to $78.74 a barrel on Wednesday, while US West Texas Intermediate dropped to $75.85.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States will waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales immediately after the signing, along with banking, transportation, and insurance services. US Vice President JD Vance has said no American taxpayer money will go to Iran under the deal, though Iranian media report that $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets will be released.

A senior US official told reporters that the framework agreement has already been signed electronically by President Donald Trump, Vice President Vance, Iran's deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

"In the final agreement, decisions will be made on the nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

But the optimism is tempered by fresh violence. The Israeli military said it carried out a strike in southern Lebanon after identifying a suspicious vehicle near its troops. Lebanon's state news agency reported that two vehicles in Mayfadoun and another in Shukeen were hit, killing four people. Iran's central military command warned Israel to "await a harsh response."

Analysts say the parallel conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon — which escalated in March after Hezbollah launched rockets following the killing of Iran's supreme leader — remains the biggest threat to the diplomatic thaw.

On the domestic front, some US conservatives are uneasy. Senate Republicans have reportedly asked to see the full text of the agreement and requested briefings from the Trump administration. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said: "Let's look at it and see what it actually is."

Trump told reporters at the G7 in France that the document is "very powerful" and he wants it released "pretty soon." Iran's ultraconservative newspaper Vatan-e Emrooz called it a "Trump surrender document."

The weeks of indirect talks, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, have built momentum toward an interim deal, but a comprehensive agreement remains elusive. The US and Israel want Iran to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which was reportedly buried by US strikes last year. Iran insists on its right to enrichment.

Vance told NBC that nuclear inspectors will be allowed into Iran under the deal.

  • Two NITC supertankers (DIONA, HERO2) exited the blockade carrying 3.8 million barrels of crude
  • A third tanker has also left the perimeter
  • Peace talks begin Friday at Burgenstock, Switzerland
  • 60-day negotiation window for final deal on nuclear programme and sanctions
  • US will waive oil sanctions immediately after signing, covering banking, transport, insurance
  • $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets to be released
  • Brent crude down to $78.74; WTI at $75.85
  • Israeli strikes in south Lebanon killed four people
  • Iran's central military command warned of a "harsh response"
  • Indirect talks mediated by Pakistan and Qatar