Iran has started discussions with Japanese firms under a United States sanctions waiver that permits renewed oil sales, yet potential purchasers want an extended waiver plus assurances on vessel security, according to three Iranian and Western sources.

The waiver forms part of sixty-day peace negotiations between Tehran and Washington and was granted on June 22 before it ends on August 21.

Three Japanese buyers examined possible crude oil acquisitions from Iran for the first time since 2019, two Iranian sources said while declining identification owing to the topic sensitivity.

Japanese and Iranian officials held preliminary talks on possible oil sales, a Western industry source familiar with the situation stated separately.

An official at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said he knew nothing about the issue.

Hormuz shipping carries risks as attacks have occurred

Japan's foreign ministry and the US Treasury offered no immediate reply to requests for comment.

Japan, South Korea, India and European nations halted Iranian oil purchases after US sanctions intensified following the 2018 withdrawal by President Donald Trump from the nuclear agreement.

China has served as Iran's primary purchaser in recent years.

Any Japanese acquisitions would concern private companies, another METI official stated in June, though it remained uncertain whether deals would advance given shipping periods and current contracts.

The safety of tanker voyages would also require confirmation, the official added.

A senior Iranian official said any deal would require the US to extend the current waiver given the shipping time between Japan and Iran.

The official added that cargoes would load at Iran's Kharg Island and employ Japanese-operated tankers.

A senior Iranian oil ministry official stated that Iran's national oil company NIOC had contacted traditional customers including Japan and informed them that if a peace agreement were reached and sanctions lifted, Iran would welcome resumed purchases.

Iran's oil ministry did not reply to a comment request.

The Strait of Hormuz passage remains far from secure and its operation after a lasting peace deal between Tehran and Washington is finalized remains unknown.

A container ship faced attack in the Strait of Hormuz last week by Iranian forces, and Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards indicated that all transits through the strait must receive their clearance first.

The UN shipping agency estimates eighty floating mines in the central waterway section.

Obtaining insurance would pose the greatest challenge, a senior official with a major Japanese oil refiner said.

The present temporary US sanctions waiver was unlikely to attract orders from well-stocked Asian refiners, leaving independent Chinese refineries as the main buyer, trade sources and analysts have said.