U.S. President Donald Trump’s interim peace deal with Iran is starting to take effect, with focus shifting to the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and a complex 60-day negotiating period over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Trump signed what is known as a memorandum of understanding at the Palace of Versailles near Paris on Wednesday evening, at the end of a Group of Seven summit. He was flanked by world and business leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, who applauded as he did so.

“Oil is flowing,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday, emphasizing why he has been so keen to end a war with Iran he started alongside Israel at the end of February. The conflict and Iran’s closure of the critical waterway caused energy prices to soar, heightening the risk of a global economic crisis, and led to chaos across the Middle East.

Those concerns led Trump to accept an agreement many Iran hawks in the U.S., as well as Israel, say concedes far too much to the Islamic Republic in terms of sanctions relief and potentially unfreezing tens of billions of dollars of funds. Many say it looks no better than the Obama administration’s 2015 nuclear deal that the U.S. leader calls the “worst deal ever.”

“History teaches us giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican who is normally supportive of Trump’s policies.

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 will arrange passage of commercial ships through the strait with “no charge for 60 days only,” according to a copy of the memorandum of understanding published by Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on X on Thursday. Traffic “will be instated within 30 days,” taking into account technical and military obstacles and the removal of mines by Iran, according to the memorandum.

Iran will hold talks with Oman to define the future...

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