Cautious of U.S.-Iran Deal, Shipping Firms Await Strait to Reopen

The preliminary deal to end the war between the United States and Iran seeks to quickly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but companies said on Monday that they need more details before navigating the waterway.Since late February, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, the strait has been effectively closed, leaving hundreds of ships stranded in the Persian Gulf, unable to transport oil and gas to global markets.“There are a lot of questions that need to be clarified,” said S.V.Anchan, the chairman of Safesea Group, a shipping company based in Piscataway, N.J., that has two ships in the gulf, both of which had been attacked since the war’s start.

One of the ships was so badly damaged that it was not operating and the other was waiting to leave the gulf.Mr.Anchan said he wanted a clear commitment from Iran that ships could pass through the strait safely.

“We want to hear from the Iranians that they will not attack us,” he said.The United States and Iran were expected to sign the agreement on Friday in Geneva.Critical issues that have divided the countries, including the fate of Iran’s nuclear program, have been deferred to later negotiations.

The text of the agreement, which Iranian officials described as a memorandum of understanding, has not been released.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....