WASHINGTON — The U.S.-Iran interim peace deal took effect and shipping started returning to the Strait of Hormuz as the United States declared an end to its blockade and a complex negotiating period over Tehran’s nuclear program began in earnest.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters at the White House that the 60-day clock for working out the contentious details in the so-called memorandum of understanding signed late Wednesday had starting ticking.

He downplayed concerns Iran could eventually impose tolls on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a move that would turn the crucial transport chokepoint — widely considered international waters — into a money maker for Tehran.

“Well, first of all, we believe international waterways should be free of tolls,” he said, noting that the countries in the region “together will figure out a proper security framework for the straits in the future.”

If the strait is not open, “there’s not going to be a final deal.”

Earlier Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that “oil is flowing,” hours after signing a memorandum of agreement to extend a ceasefire and begin negotiations to end the conflict he started alongside Israel at the end of February. Iran’s closure of the strait spiked energy prices, raised the risk of a global economic crisis, and led to chaos across the Middle East.

U.S. Central Command announced Thursday that it had lifted the blockade on traffic to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas.

“American forces are not impeding the transit of vessels to or from Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” the command said in a social media post. “All U.S. military blockade enforcement efforts have ceased. Our great Naval Ships will remain in the general area to make sure that all aspects of the agreement are adhered to, obeyed and in full force and effect.”

Ships carrying stranded oil began making their way out of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, while Kuwait said it will start ramping up production, as the peace deal sparked a flurry of activity in the region. Vessels carrying nearly 10 million barrels of oil have either appeared outside the strait or are sailing through, including the first Saudi-owned tankers since the war began more than three months ago.

Iran said commercial vessel traffic at southern ports had returned to normal since Monday, according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency.

Many shipping and oil executives had previously said they need more clarity, including on whether the strait is clear of mines and whether they need to seek any kind of permission from Iran before sailing through.

Iran hawks, including some Republican allies of Trump, say the deal concedes far too much to the Islamic Republic in terms of sanctions relief and potentially unfreezing tens of billions of dollars of funds. Some of have said it is no better than the Obama administration’s 2015 nuclear deal that Trump had called the “worst deal ever.”

“Specifically, the $300 billion fund for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran — though not funded by U.S. taxpayers — would make Iran’s payoff under President Obama’s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison,” Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee said in a statement.

“The Iranian regime has not renounced its ultimate goal — ‘Death to America, Death to Israel.’ The regime will invest every penny it receives to further that aim,” he said.

Asked about reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Cabinet are upset about the deal, Vance suggested officials consider that the United States is Israel’s strongest friend.

“If I was in the Cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,” Vance said. “The problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump, and anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in.”

According to a copy of the memorandum of understanding published by Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on X on Thursday, Iran will arrange passage of commercial ships through the strait with “no charge for 60 days only” and traffic is to be reinstated “within 30 days.”

Iran will hold talks with Oman to define the future administration and maritime services of the Strait of Hormuz, which will be in line with “applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states” of the Persian Gulf, according to the agreement.

It was unclear if Vance would still meet Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s lead negotiator, in Switzerland on Friday for negotiations to permanently end the war as planned. He said the U.S. had met it primary objectives for the conflict and suggested it could only benefit from the deal as agreed.

“Iran is weakened, their nuclear program destroyed, their economy in desperate straits, and if they change their behavior, big things are going to happen for Iran and for the world,” he said. “If they don’t, no skin off our backs — either way, we win. And that’s the way the president has set up this deal and this negotiation.”

Oil fell further on Thursday, with Brent dropping 2.5% to $77.55 a barrel as of 12:38 p.m. in New York. It’s down from close to $95 since Trump said late last week that a deal was imminent.

Still, oil remains roughly 30% higher for the year, with energy traders saying it will take months, if not longer, for volumes of oil and liquefied natural gas going through Hormuz to return to normal.

During the 60-day negotiation, the sides will try to agree on restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program and how to dilute or destroy its stocks of highly enriched uranium. Many nuclear experts say 60 days is too short to work out something so complex and technical. The agreement does say the time frame can be extended.

The 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump derided and abandoned during his first term, took about two years to finalize.

Israel and the U.S. said the conflict was necessary to prevent Iran acquiring atomic weapons. The Islamic Republic has always denied wanting to do that, though it has raised the suspicions of many governments by enriching uranium far beyond the levels needed for nuclear power plants.

While Iran’s economy has been battered by the war and some of its most senior leaders killed, its ruling regime remains entrenched. The Iranian military proved able to inflict plenty of damage on the U.S. and allies such as the United Arab Emirates by firing thousands of drones and missiles across the region.

U.S. gasoline prices dipped below $4 a gallon for the first time since March after the memorandum was agreed.

Iran will be allowed to restart oil exports immediately under the memorandum, with the U.S. granting sanctions waivers. Tehran will also potentially benefit from a $300 billion rehabilitation fund that the U.S. and regional allies are meant to set up. The U.S. has said it won’t provide any money but that other countries are free to.

The document says the U.S. could unfreeze Iranian funds held in various countries, albeit only if Tehran meets certain criteria.

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(With assistance from Catherine Lucey, Devika Krishna Kumar and Erik Wasson.)

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