Ammon News - A convoy of oil tankers was crossing the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the ​first major movement of ships in the crucial waterway since the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran seven weeks ago.

The group of four liquefied petroleum gas carriers and several oil product ‌and chemical tankers, was passing through Iranian waters south of Larak Island with more tankers following from the Gulf, according to MarineTraffic data.

U.S. President Donald Trump hours earlier had cited "some pretty good news" about Iran, declining to elaborate. He also said a ceasefire in the war may not be extended without a deal by Wednesday.

Iran reopened the strait, which before the war carried a fifth of the world's oil trade, following a separate U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement on Thursday by Israel and Lebanon.

UNCLEAR IF ANY DIRECT TALKS THIS WEEKEND
Trump, speaking on ​Air Force One late on Friday, declined to elaborate on what the good news was, although he could have been referring to the movement of the tankers.

"It seems to be going very well in the ​Middle East with Iran," he told reporters while returning to Washington from Phoenix, Arizona. "We're negotiating over the weekend. I expect things to go well. Many of these things ⁠have been negotiated and agreed to.

"The main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. You cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon, and that supersedes everything else."

But in sharp contrast, he said he may end ​the ceasefire with Iran unless a long-term deal to end the war is agreed before it expires on Wednesday, adding that a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports would continue.

The war with Iran, which began on February 28 with a U.S.-Israeli ​attack on the Islamic Republic, has killed thousands and sent oil prices surging because of the de facto closure of the strait.

Reuters