# World Watch

By [DYLIT Chronicles](https://dylit.info/user/dylitmediabuzz)

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"Saudi Oil Flows Return to Hormuz — Iran Says Full Reopening Still Depends on Lifting U.S. Blockade" Saudi Arabia Resumes Oil Loadings From Inside the Strait of Hormuz Saudi Aramco has restarted crude oil loadings from terminals located inside the Strait of Hormuz, ending a roughly three-week pause caused by attacks on the kingdom's tanker fleet during a flare-up in the U.S.-Iran conflict last month. Three very large crude carriers — Malaysia Prosperity, Algeria Prosperity and Singapore Prosperity — each loaded around two million barrels of crude at the Ras Tanura and Juaymah terminals between August 12 and 16, and shipping-data provider Kpler says six more supertankers could load from inside the strait before the month is out. Aramco has also offered Asian refiners Arab Medium and Arab Heavy crude cargoes for ship-to-ship transfers off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. Why Loading "From Inside" Hormuz Matters The distinction matters because Saudi Arabia spent much of the past several months routing oil around the strait rather than through it — sending crude overland via the East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, or arranging transfers outside the contested waterway. Hormuz remains the world's most important oil chokepoint: at its narrowest point it is only about 21 miles wide, yet roughly a fifth to a quarter of global seaborne oil trade, and a comparable share of liquefied natural gas, normally passes through it, with few viable alternative routes for that volume. Tankers actually loading at Gulf terminals like Ras Tanura signal that shippers see the direct route as viable again, and the extra barrels help ease a shortage of heavier crude grades used to refuel ships and produce diesel and gasoline. The resumption is only partial: Aramco's alternative Red Sea route through Yanbu has itself been squeezed by a blockade the Yemeni Houthi movement declared against Saudi shipping in mid-July, pushing Aramco to offer smaller volumes from Egypt's Sidi Kerir terminal instead. Iran-U.S. Negotiations and the Naval Blockade The wider standoff over Hormuz is tied to unresolved negotiations between Washington and Tehran. The United States imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports in April 2026 after talks in Islamabad collapsed, and U.S. Central Command reinstated it after a June 17 memorandum of understanding between the two countries fell apart in mid-July. As of August 17, CENTCOM said it had redirected 64 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two since the blockade resumed. Iran's parliament speaker and lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has said the strait will not reopen until Washington fulfills conditions tied to the June memorandum — chief among them, lifting the naval blockade of Iranian ports, along with lifting oil sanctions, releasing Iran's frozen assets abroad, and ending military threats and operations against Tehran and its regional allies. President Trump has said no talks with Iran are currently scheduled and has insisted the naval blockade "remains in full force," even while claiming the strait itself is open. Separately, Iran and Oman have been negotiating a new southern shipping route through the strait, with officials on both sides describing those talks as nearing completion — though Iranian officials stress that any Iran-Oman shipping arrangement would not by itself satisfy Tehran's broader conditions for a full reopening. Market and Regional Security Implications The unresolved dispute continues to weigh on global energy markets. Oil prices have swung sharply on developments in the talks, and the International Energy Agency has warned that world oil stockpiles are being drawn down as traffic through Hormuz stays well below its pre-war level of roughly 20 million barrels a day. Maritime monitors have logged dozens of reports of vessel damage in and around the strait since the crisis began in late February, and the parallel Houthi blockade in the Red Sea has limited how much alternative routes can make up for lost Hormuz volume. That makes Saudi Arabia's return to direct Hormuz loadings a notable, but still fragile, sign of normalization rather than evidence that the underlying U.S.-Iran dispute has been resolved.   Sources Reuters (via Business Recorder) — "Saudi Arabia resumes oil loadings, sales from inside Strait of Hormuz" — https://www.brecorder.com/news/40435376/saudi-arabia-resumes-oil-loadings-sales-from-inside-strait-of-hormuz gCaptain (Reuters) — "Saudi Arabia Resumes Oil Loadings, Sales From Inside Strait of Hormuz" — https://gcaptain.com/saudi-arabia-resumes-oil-loadings-sales-from-inside-strait-of-hormuz/ OilPrice.com — "Aramco Puts VLCCs Back Into Hormuz After Three-Week Pause" — https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Aramco-Puts-VLCCs-Back-Into-Hormuz-After-Three-Week-Pause.html Al Jazeera — "Iran, US set new conditions during Hormuz talks: What does this mean?" — https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/11/iran-us-set-new-conditions-during-hormuz-talks-what-does-this-mean Related YouTube Videos "Iran Seeks to Bar US, Israeli Ships From Hormuz | Horizons Middle East & Africa 8/7/2026" — Bloomberg Television — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3I7E3EFPrA "Iran Sanctions Could Put China Oil Trade in Focus" — Bloomberg Television — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQiXy_Ebuz4 "US-Iran War 2026: How China Rendered the Strait of Hormuz Oil Blockade Obsolete" — The Bigger Picture — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7ZARwdK92U