The United States lifts the blockade on Iran and the Iranian Supreme Leader supports direct talks with American officials

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Thursday lifted its blockade of Iran, and oil tankers began moving freely through the Strait of Hormuz after months of being unable to use the vital channel, as a tentative agreement to end the war took effect.

Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance announced that he may postpone a trip to Switzerland that was scheduled for Friday and included a deal signing ceremony. The visit may have helped start talks on the next, and perhaps more important, round of negotiations between the two sides.

Hours later, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei supported direct negotiations with the United States in a statement read by state media. This was Khamenei’s first reaction to the agreement.

He added, “It is clear that the direct negotiations that will take place in the future will not mean accepting the enemy’s opinion.”

The Supreme Leader has not appeared in public since he was injured in an air strike at the beginning of the war.

An uncertain timeline may make it more difficult to promote a deal

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also postponed a planned visit to Switzerland, where officials in Islamabad were scheduled to host the ceremony, because the agreement had already been signed, two senior officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said.

The now uncertain timeline may raise new questions and make it more difficult for the Trump administration to promote the agreement, which many in the United States – including some Republicans in Congress – have criticized as too pro-Tehran.

“Our plan is to go to Switzerland. I don’t know exactly when,” Vance said during a press conference at the White House when asked about not traveling to attend the signing ceremony.

He added: “I doubt this weekend, but I’m not sure.”

Watch: Vance holds a media briefing at the White House after Trump signed the war agreement with Iran

This raised new doubts about the agreement, which President Donald Trump said he signed to avoid “economic disaster” in the United States.

Vance’s announcement came a day after Trump signed the agreement with Iran while dining with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles. The agreement is set to take effect immediately, extending the ceasefire while giving each side 60 days to reach broader agreements on larger issues.

Trump said the deal would avoid continued pressure on the US economy after the war caused oil prices to rise, made financial markets volatile and stoked inflation. He repeatedly said he did not want to be compared to Herbert Hoover, whose policies helped worsen the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Vance defends the US-Iran agreement

The vice president, who was initially personally skeptical of the United States going to war with Iran, increasingly became the administration’s face for the conflict and was vocal in defending the deal. In response to a question about concerns about conceding too much, the vice president repeatedly said that the agreement would force Iran to “change its behavior.”

Shortly before Vance announced the postponement of his trip, Pakistan said it had postponed the visit of its top officials to the Swiss resort near Lucerne, where Islamabad was scheduled to host the signing ceremony. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and senior officials were scheduled to make the trip, but officials said the ceremonial signing had become less urgent now that the two sides had already signed.

Vance defended the agreement and brushed aside accusations that its rollout was fragmented and sometimes contradictory, saying: “I don’t think our public messaging has been a mess.”

Read more: What does the agreement to end the American war in Iran include, according to an American official?

He also issued a blunt warning to Israel, which prompted the United States to take a tougher stance against Iran and launched attacks on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon throughout the war, including before the ceasefire extension agreement was reached. These attacks complicated peace efforts with Iran.

Vance said that Trump “is the only head of state in the world who sympathizes with the State of Israel at this moment in time.” “He also happens to be the head of the world’s superpower.”

The Vice President said that more than 12.5 million barrels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday evening. This could calm oil prices, which rose during the war but have fallen since the United States and Iran announced a preliminary agreement to end the conflict.

He said that the United States easing its blockade on Iran means “respecting the end of the first part of the agreement on the military side.”

US warships “will remain in the general area to ensure that all aspects of the agreement are adhered to and implemented to its full force and effect,” US Central Command said.

Charging starts to pick up

At least two oil tankers left Iran and crossed the US military blockade without being stopped. A commercial shipping tracking website said the ships were carrying a total of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.

Iranian state media said shipping had “returned to normal” in Iran’s southern ports, but added that the strait was still under the supervision and control of the Iranian military, and that transit through the vital waterway still required coordination.

Watch: A maritime security expert examines the impact of the US-Iran deal on global shipping

Major shipowners began moving ships through the strait after the agreement was signed, according to maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence, although Lloyd’s had not provided data on how many ships had passed through the strait as of Thursday.

At a press conference, Richard Mead, editor-in-chief of Lloyd’s List, said that for the first time in 110 days, ships owned by major companies were crossing the strait after being effectively stranded there since February.

Tankers controlled by major shipowners Grimaldi Group, Cosco, Knutsen and NYK have passed through the strait. Two Iranian-flagged crude oil tankers, owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company, entered the strait, according to Lloyd’s List.

The strait’s main central route remains closed and has an estimated 80 mines that need to be removed, said Philip Belcher, maritime director for Intertanco, a trade group for independent global tanker owners.

But the ships were passing through the smaller northern route, which passes through Iranian waters, and the southern route, which passes through Omani waters.

The agreement calls for a permanent cessation of hostilities

The US-Iran agreement calls for a permanent cessation of hostilities and begins 60 days of negotiations to reach a final agreement on the future of Iran’s nuclear program, although Trump has left the door open for a resumption of attacks. The agreement appears to offer Iran many benefits up front while getting little in return.

It stipulates that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried under the rubble, should at least be diluted under international supervision. The agreement also stipulates that Iran will not purchase or develop nuclear weapons, a commitment it had previously made. But beyond saying that the United States and Iran will negotiate over the Iranian nuclear program, there are other commitments that still need to be worked on.

The agreement also removes US-backed sanctions on the country, immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from Washington.

Read more: Analysts say rising gas, grocery and flight prices will continue after the Iran war ends

However, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said Thursday that the 27-nation bloc would leave its sanctions on Iran in place for now. The Union imposed a series of separate sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, human rights violations, and the closure of the Strait.

“As soon as conditions permit, of course, member states will discuss whether to lift sanctions, but we are not there yet,” Callas said ahead of an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.

Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Aamer Madani in Zurich, Colleen Binkley and Michelle L. Smith contributed to this report. Price in Washington, May Anderson in New York, and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran.