The United States and Iran are set to launch talks on a final settlement to their conflict on Friday in Switzerland, officials said, as news that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen sent world oil prices tumbling.
Negotiations over a final deal are to start immediately after a deal signing ceremony and continue during a 60-day window, leading to decisions on the fate of Iran's nuclear programme and a plan for the lifting of international economic sanctions.
However, optimism that the war triggered by the February 28 US-Israeli strikes on Tehran might be coming to an end was dented by fresh Israeli strikes on south Lebanon.
The Israeli military said it conducted a strike after it 'identified a suspicious vehicle' near where its soldiers were operating and that its forces intercepted several rockets and carried out an air strike against a launcher.
Oil prices have tumbled following the news that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen, with the international benchmark Brent North Sea crude falling under $79 a barrel, a three-month low.
The US had imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports in retaliation for Iran's action, but Iranian state television said Iranian tankers had resumed shipping following the deal.
