U.S. lifts blockade of Iran and Iranian supreme leader endorses direct talks with American officials

By — Will Weissert, Associated Press Will Weissert, Associated Press By — Seung Min Kim, Associated Press Seung Min Kim, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-lifts-blockade-of-iran-and-iranian-supreme-leader-endorses-direct-talks-with-american-officials Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter U.S. lifts blockade of Iran and Iranian supreme leader endorses direct talks with American officials World Jun 18, 2026 3:20 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Thursday lifted its blockade of Iran, and oil tankers began freely moving through the Strait of Hormuz after months of being unable to use the critical channel, as the tentative agreement to end the war took effect. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance announced that he may postpone a trip to Switzerland that had been planned for Friday and included a ceremonial signing of the deal. The visit might have helped start talks on the next, potentially even more critical, round of negotiations between the two sides. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Hours later, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei endorsed direct negotiations with the U.S. in a statement read by state media. It was Khamenei's first reaction to the agreement. "It is obvious that the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy's opinion," he said. The supreme leader has not been seen in public since he was wounded in a strike at the start of the war. Uncertain timeline could make it more difficult to promote deal Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also postponed a planned visit to Switzerland, where Islamabad officials were to host the ceremony, because the agreement had already been signed, said two senior officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The now uncertain timeline could raise new questions and make it even more difficult for the Trump administration to promote a deal that many in the U.S. — including some congressional Republicans — have criticized as too favorable to Tehran. "Our plan is to go to Switzerland. I don't know exactly when," Vance said during a briefing with reporters at the White House when asked about not flying, as planned, to the signing ceremony. "I suspect this weekend, but I'm not sure," he added. WATCH: Vance holds White House briefing after Trump signs Iran war agreement That injected new doubt into an agreement that President Donald Trump said he signed to avoid "economic catastrophe" in the U.S. Vance's announcement came a day after Trump signed the pact with Iran while dining with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles. The deal is slated to take immediate effect and extends a ceasefire while giving each side 60 days to hammer out broader agreements on larger issues. Trump said the deal would avoid