WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: A convoy of oil tankers was crossing the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the first major movement of ships in the crucial waterway since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran seven weeks ago.
The group of four liquefied petroleum gas carriers and several oil product and chemical tankers, was passing through Iranian waters south of Larak Island with more tankers following from the Gulf, according to MarineTraffic data.
US President Donald Trump hours earlier had cited "some pretty good news" about Iran, declining to elaborate. He also said a ceasefire in the war may not be extended without a deal by Wednesday.
Iran reopened the strait, which before the war carried a fifth of the world's oil trade, following a separate US-brokered ceasefire agreement on Thursday by Israel and Lebanon.
Trump, speaking on Air Force One late on Friday, declined to elaborate on what the good news was, although he could have been referring to the movement of the tankers.
"It seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran," he told reporters while returning to Washington from Phoenix, Arizona. "We're negotiating over the weekend. I expect things to go well. Many of these things have been negotiated and agreed to.
"The main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. You cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon, and that supersedes everything else."
Trump has told Reuters there would probably be more direct talks between Iran and the US this weekend. Some diplomats said that was unlikely given the logistics of gathering in Islamabad, where the talks are expected to take place.
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