French Media: Strait of Hormuz Records Highest Traffic Since Conflict

At least 36 commodity carriers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday (22/6), the highest number since the outbreak of conflict in Iran, French media Le Monde reported on Tuesday. The figure reflects nearly a third of the strait’s normal peacetime traffic, which averages around 120 vessel crossings per day, the report stated, citing data from maritime analytics firm Kpler. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy shipping lanes. Before the conflict, more than a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the waterway, which also plays a vital role in shipping grain and consumer goods to the Gulf region. Negotiating teams from the United States and Iran, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, began their talks on Sunday (21/6) at the Buergenstock mountain resort in central Switzerland. The talks mark the first face-to-face negotiations between the two sides since the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Islamabad, Pakistan, last week. Under the MoU, the United States and Iran declared an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and committed to negotiating and reaching a final peace agreement within a maximum of 60 days.