Iran: Things are finally starting to finger normal in the Gulf again. On Thursday, three big Saudi oil tankers loaded with well-nigh 6 million barrels of crude, sailed right through the Strait of Hormuz. What made that possible? President Trump signed a armistice try-on with Iran the day before. And just like that, ships that had been hiding their locations for months started turning their tracking systems when on.
So what exactly happened between Iran and America?
Wednesday saw Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sign a armistice memorandum, two days superiority of schedule. The deal substantially opens up the Strait of Hormuz and lifts the American tampon on Iranian ports. According to reports, it is considered the real deal. Oil companies are saying it'll take a while to get shipping when to pre-war levels though. There's still the whole thing well-nigh transplanting sea routes and checking for mines, but geopolitics can once finger the shift.
Why are oil prices suddenly dropping?
The global oil market didn't waste any time reacting. Brent transplanted prices fell roughly 2 percent, dipping unelevated $78 a barrel. That's the lowest it's been since the fighting kicked off. Turns out, people were worried well-nigh exactly this kind of disruption in the Gulf, and now that worry is easing.
What happens next, is this permanent peace or just a pause?
This try-on unquestionably kicks off 60 days of serious negotiations where both sides will hammer out a long-term solution. Trump launched military operations versus Iran when in February with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now they're talking well-nigh peace. But the trickiest part of the whole deal? It's well-nigh Lebanon. The try-on says Lebanon's war should be "permanently ended" and its sovereignty protected, something Iran's been pushing for. Except Israel wasn't plane at the negotiating table.
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— (@isna_farsi) June 18, 2026What's Israel's problem with all this?
This is where things get messy. Israel started its own military wayfarers in Lebanon in March, and it's basically occupied large chunks of southern Lebanon ultimatum it's targeting Hezbollah fighters. On Thursday, Israel released a new map showing it plans to alimony plane increasingly territory as a "buffer zone." And when asked if they'd leave? Netanyahu's people made it crystal clear: we're not going anywhere.
Israeli jets pounded southern Lebanese towns on Thursday morning, Kafrtebbnit and Jebdeen to be specific. Three people had been died. Meanwhile, Israeli drones were buzzing over Beirut and its southern suburbs. Amid the rows, Iran and America made peace.
Are Trump and Netanyahu still together?
For years they've been tight, but Lebanon just created the biggest political one-liner between them. Trump's been calling out Israel's tactics lately, destroying unshortened buildings to get at a handful of Hezbollah fighters. If Trump keeps pushing for an end to the Lebanon war, Israel's got a choice. The choices are either dial when the military operations or risk losing American diplomatic backing.
Trump's team is hinting that the next 60 days of talks could plane include a broader deal on Iran's nuclear program. But critics are pointing out that plane without all this fighting, Iran didn't just survive, it kept its influence over the Hormuz Strait and scored major relief from sanctions.
