Two Chinesetankers laden with oil exited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday,shipping data showed, brightening hopes that the U.S.-Israeliconflict with Iran may soon be resolved after positive commentsfrom the U.S. president and his deputy.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the war would be over"very quickly" while Vice President JD Vance talked up progressin talks with Tehran about an agreement to end hostilities.

"We're in a pretty good spot here," Vance told a White Housepress briefing.

Trump made his comments a day after saying he had paused aplanned resumption of hostilities following a new proposal byTehran to end the conflict.

"I was an hour away from making the decision to go today,"Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

Iran's leaders are begging for a deal, he said, adding thata new U.S. attack would happen in coming days if no agreementwas reached.

The United States has been struggling to end the war itbegan with Israel nearly three months ago. Trump has repeatedlysaid during the conflict that a deal with Tehran was close, andsimilarly threatened heavy strikes on Iran if it did not reachan accord.

The U.S. president is under intense political pressure athome to reach an accord that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz -a key route for global supplies of oil and other commodities.Gasoline prices remain high and Trump's approval rating hasplummeted with congressional elections looming in November.

The conflict has caused the worst-ever disruption to globalenergy supplies, blocking hundreds of tankers from leaving theGulf while damaging energy and shipping facilities across theregion.

Two Chinese ships, among a handful of supertankers carryingIraqi crude, exiting the Gulf this month, passed through thenarrow strait carrying around 4 million barrels of crude,according to data from LSEG and Kpler.

Oil prices eased on the positive signals from the WhiteHouse and in the Gulf, with Brent crude falling to aslow as $110.16 a barrel, before regaining much of its losses.

"Investors are keen to gauge whether Washington and Tehrancan actually find common ground and reach a peace agreement,with the U.S. stance shifting daily," said Toshitaka Tazawa, ananalyst at Fujitomi Securities.

DIFFICULTIES IN NEGOTIATIONS

Speaking to reporters at a White House briefing, Vanceacknowledged difficulties in negotiating with a fracturedIranian leadership. "It's not sometimes totally clear what thenegotiating position of the team is," he said, so the U.S. istrying to make its own red lines clear.

He also said one objective of Trump's policy is to prevent anuclear arms race from spreading in the region.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's nationalsecurity committee, said on X that Trump's pausing of an attackwas due to the realization that any move against Iran would mean"facing a decisive military response."

Iranian state media said Tehran's latest peace proposalinvolves ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, theexit of U.S. forces from areas close to Iran, and reparationsfor destruction caused by the U.S.-Israeli attacks.

Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions, release offrozen funds and an end to the U.S. marine blockade, accordingto Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as cited by IRNAnews agency.

The terms as described in the Iranian reports appearedlittle changed from Iran's previous offer, which Trump rejectedlast week as "garbage."

CEASEFIRE MOSTLY HOLDING

The U.S.-Israeli bombing killed thousands of people in Iranbefore it was suspended in a ceasefire in early April. Israelhas killed thousands more and driven hundreds of thousands fromtheir homes in Lebanon, which it invaded in pursuit of theIran-backed Hezbollah militia.

Iranian strikes on Israel and neighbouring Gulf states havekilled dozens of people.

The Iran ceasefire has mostly held, although drones havelately been ​launched from Iraq ​towards ⁠Gulf countries,including Saudi Arabia and ⁠Kuwait, apparently by Iran and itsallies.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saidthey launched the war to curb Iran's support for regionalmilitias, dismantle its nuclear program, destroy its missilecapabilities and create conditions for Iranians to topple theirrulers.

But the war has yet to deprive Iran of its stockpile ofnear-weapons-grade enriched uranium or its ability to threatenneighbours with missiles, drones and proxy militias.

The Islamic Republic's clerical leadership, which had faceda mass uprising at the start of the year, withstood thesuperpower onslaught with no sign of organised opposition.