00:01A Malta-flagged tanker anchors off Iraq, ready to take on around 2 million barrels of crude.
00:07As recently as February, this would have been a routine stop, but war in the Middle East
00:12has choked off access to the Gulf region's rich oil reserves.
00:16This ship, bound for Vietnam in oil-starved Asia, is one of a few that have made it through.
00:21And it may have an easier time getting back out than expected.
00:25After weeks of severely limiting traffic, Iran says it's reopened the Strait of Hormuz,
00:30the gateway to the Gulf, amid a pause in fighting.
00:34U.S. President Donald Trump says the American blockade of Iranian ports will stay in place
00:39for now, but that he expects an end to weeks of hostilities soon, having earlier said talks
00:44with Iran could resume this weekend.
00:46The two sides have starkly different demands, including about the Strait of Hormuz.
00:51And Iran's foreign ministry said the U.S. blockade violates the ceasefire.
00:56But Trump says he doesn't think this should cause too much trouble.
00:59We're having a big day, we'll see how it all turns out, but it should be good.
01:03We've had some very good discussions, and hopefully that subject that you like to talk
01:08about will be very good.
01:10And we've done a good job, but we'll see.
01:13The talks are going on, it'll go on over the weekend, and a lot of good things are happening.
01:18Analysts say it will take time for oil supplies to recover.
01:22The Strait is still largely deserted, but they foresee prices coming down, having fluctuated
01:27around 100 U.S. dollars a barrel or above for the past month and a half.
01:32So I think what we'll see is more of an oil price that's probably in the 70s, maybe depending
01:39on what's happening geopolitically, it could pop up into the 80s.
01:42But I'm hoping the days of $100 oil are behind us at this point in time.
01:50The ceasefire between Iran and the U.S.-Israeli alliance and the reopening of the Hormuz Strait
01:55aren't the only signs of a chance for peace to prevail.
01:58U.S. ally Israel has also agreed to stop bombing its neighbor Lebanon for 10 days, pausing a
02:04second front in the conflict.
02:07Over a million Lebanese people are displaced, but a few have begun returning home, despite
02:12the destruction awaiting them.
02:14It's a moment of hope, but it could pass quickly, as Israel's enemy in Lebanon, the Iranian proxy
02:20group Hezbollah, remains a sticking point.
02:23Analysts say any shift in the region could break the truce.
02:26The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and Hezbollah is extremely fragile.
02:34If the ceasefire with Iran collapses, for instance, Israel would almost feel free to
02:41resume the attacks, and probably Hezbollah too, between them.
02:49And so, despite moments of relief and celebration in places like Lebanon, the question is whether
02:54peace can hold.
02:56Attention now turns to the resumption of U.S.-Iran talks, whether a substantive deal can be agreed
03:01over Tehran's nuclear program, and which side is prepared to make the greater concessions.
03:06Scott Huang and John Van Trieste for Taiwan Plus.
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