The Strait of Hormuz has been mostly shut for two months.
On Sunday, two ships got through. One was a Qatari gas tanker headed to Pakistan. That's a small crack in a blockade that has been squeezing the world oil market.
The QatarEnergy-run tanker Al Kharaitiyat passed through the strait Sunday. It was on its way to Port Qasim, per shipping data firm Kpler. It's the first Qatari LNG ship to cross since the war began Feb. 28.
Sources said Iran approved the trip to build trust with Qatar and Pakistan. Both are mediating peace talks.
The cargo also offers some help to Pakistan. The country has dealt with rolling power blackouts since gas imports stopped.
A Panama-flagged ship bound for Brazil also got through. It used a route set by Iran's armed forces. The ship had tried to cross on May 4 but turned back.
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Iran sent its reply to a U.S. peace plan Sunday, per the IRNA news agency. Pakistan is mediating, but no details are out yet.
U.N. Ambassador Michael Waltz spoke on ABC's "This Week." He said the Trump White House had not yet seen the reply.
Talks are slow, he said. That's partly because Mojtaba Khamenei, the new Ayatollah and son of the last one, has been hurt. He's now in hiding.
Trump is set to visit China this week. Pressure to wrap up the war is growing.
Qatar's prime minister and Turkey's foreign minister both spoke with Iran's foreign minister this weekend. They both warned Tehran. Using the strait as a pressure tool would only deepen the crisis.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met Italy's prime minister Friday. He pressed Italy and other allies to back U.S. work to reopen the strait.
The same day the tankers got through, drones lit up the Gulf. The UAE shot down two from Iran. Qatar slammed a drone strike on a cargo ship in its waters from Abu Dhabi. Kuwait's air force took out hostile drones in its airspace.
Iran's lawmakers are drafting a bill. It would lock in Iran's control of the strait and block ships from "hostile states."
Britain said Saturday it's sending a warship to the region. The move is part of a possible joint mission. France is helping draft a safe-transit plan.
A CIA report says Iran wouldn't feel real pain from the U.S. blockade for about four more months. That's per a U.S. official. A senior intel official disputed the claim.
The strait carried about one-fifth of the world's oil supply before the war. Two tankers don't reopen it. The U.S. is still waiting for Tehran's full peace response.
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