Iranian tankers carrying millions of barrels of crude oil have bypassed a U.S. naval blockade, raising questions about the blockade’s enforcement ahead of a planned peace deal between the U.S. and Iran.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Two Iranian tankers have successfully passed through a United States blockade, suggesting enforcement may be easing ahead of the planned signing of a peace deal between Tehran and Washington. 📺 DETAIL: According to TankerTrackers, a shipping data website, the two tankers passed safely through the Strait. Named Diona and Hero 2, the tankers were carrying a combined 3.8 million barrels of crude oil. A third Iranian tanker carrying an additional one million barrels reportedly followed after. “At least two National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) VLCC supertankers named DIONA (9569695) and HERO2 (9362073) have exited the US Navy blockade perimeter carrying a combined total of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil between them,” reported TankerTrackers on X (formerly Twitter), adding: “A 3rd NITC tanker, a Suezmax at that, has now exited the blockade line with 1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.” Both tankers are operated by the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) and are technically subject to U.S. sanctions. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “The main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. They fully agreed to that with strong policing powers, and they won’t have a nuclear weapon, which is what it was all about.” – President Donald J. Trump, during the ongoing G7 summit in France earlier this week. 🎯 IMPACT: This incident has occurred just days before the United States and Iran are set to sign a peace deal. The deal will reportedly include a ban on the Islamic Republic obtaining nuclear weapons. The deal will be signed at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland on Friday. In April this year, President Trump imposed the naval blockade after failed negotiations with Iran mediated by Pakistan. The blockade aimed to disrupt Iran’s ability to export oil and to interfere with international shipping, amid Iran’s own blockade of oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. The tankers’ passage through the Strait raises questions about the extent to which the U.S. blockade is still in effect. The safe passage of ships through the Strait, along with retail gas prices dropping to $4 per gallon, the lowest since April, suggests that while the peace deal has yet to be signed, the global economy is already beginning to recover in anticipation. |
BREAKING: CRUDE OIL DEPARTS IRAN FOLLOWING A TWO MONTH LONG NAVY BLOCKADE
According to AIS data which we corroborated yesterday (2026-06-15) by satellite imagery, at least two National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) VLCC supertankers named DIONA (9569695) and HERO2 (9362073) have… pic.twitter.com/tSesQTcC6K
— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) June 16, 2026
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