Iran sends tankers loaded with oil past US military blockade

Three Iranian tankers loaded with crude oil have passed the US blockade line in the Gulf of Oman, ship-tracking data shows.

Two were broadcasting their locations as they crossed and a third appeared to switch on its location tracker just past the line.

Despite President Donald Trump announcing on Sunday the "immediate removal" of the blockade of Iranian ports, US naval forces later confirmed it would remain in effect until the deal with Iran was signed. This is expected to take place in Switzerland on Friday.

"This a sign that Iran is confident the blockade is over, even if the US has insisted it will be in place until Friday," Michelle Wiese Bockman, senior analyst at Windward Maritime Intelligence, told BBC Verify.

The three Iran-flagged tankers, Diona, Hero II and Sonia I, are all owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company which has been sanctioned by the US Treasury, as have the ships themselves.

Iran has been subject to long-term US sanctions in response to fears the country is developing nuclear weapons, its support for groups designated by Washington as terrorist organisations, and alleged human rights abuses.

Data from MarineTraffic shows Hero II and Sonia I left Iran's Chabahar port on Tuesday, where several other Iranian tankers are currently anchored, and sailed past the US blockade line into the Arabian Sea in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Diona began broadcasting its location just past the US blockade line, which stretches from the eastern tip of Oman to the coast of Iran, yesterday.