Two Chinese oil tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, raising hopes that tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran could ease soon.
According to shipping data, the vessels carried around 4 million barrels of Iraqi crude through the strategic waterway.
The movement followed positive comments from US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance regarding negotiations with Tehran.
Trump said the conflict could end “very quickly” and revealed he had paused a planned escalation after receiving a new Iranian proposal.
“I was an hour away from making the decision to go today,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Vice President Vance said talks with Tehran were progressing, although he acknowledged difficulties due to divisions within Iran’s leadership.
“We’re in a pretty good spot here,” Vance stated during a White House briefing.
The conflict has severely disrupted global energy and shipping markets over recent months. Hundreds of tankers have remained delayed in the Gulf while war-risk insurance costs surged sharply.
The United States faces growing domestic pressure to restore normal traffic through Hormuz, a critical route for global oil supplies.
Oil prices reacted to the latest diplomatic signals. Brent crude briefly dropped to US$110.16 per barrel before recovering part of the losses.
Iranian officials said Tehran’s latest proposal includes ending military operations across the region, lifting sanctions, removing the naval blockade and releasing frozen Iranian assets.
Iran also demanded the withdrawal of US forces from areas near its borders.
Meanwhile, tensions remain high despite the ceasefire reached earlier this year. Drone attacks launched from Iraq have recently targeted Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The conflict began in late February after joint US-Israeli military operations against Iran. Tehran later responded with missile and drone attacks against US bases and Israeli targets across the region.
