Iran on Saturday said it was “very close” to reaching an agreement with Oman on a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. However, Iran stated that such an agreement alone would not reopen the strategic waterway for normal shipping, reported Reuters.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks with Oman were still under way and that the two sides were working on a temporary route because of technical and legal issues involved in setting up a permanent arrangement.
Araghchi said the talks had reached an advanced stage and that the two sides were “very close to the final result”, reported Reuters citing Iran’s IRIB news agency. But he said reopening the Strait of Hormuz would depend on other conditions.
“This action does not indicate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” Araghchi said, according to IRIB. He added that reopening the waterway would depend on “other conditions and compensation for the violation of the memorandum of understanding by the United States”.
The comments came after the US said it expected an agreement between Iran and Oman soon. A US official told Reuters on Friday that Washington expected a deal that would allow normal commercial oil shipments through the waterway to resume.
The official said the United States would lift its blockade of Iranian ports once an agreement was announced to restore commercial shipping “without impediments”. “As always, US actions will continue to be performance-based and tied to Iran’s implementation of its commitments,” the official said, according to Reuters.
Iran and Oman’s negotiations
Araghchi said Iran was working with Oman on a temporary route that could later become the basis for a permanent route. He said the current talks involved both technical and legal questions. “Before reaching a new route, a temporary route will be considered as the basis for the main route,” Araghchi said.
Iran and Oman had already reached an understanding on the coordinates of a shipping route earlier this week. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on August 5 that the two countries were finalising a joint announcement, although he warned that the arrangement would not by itself guarantee security in the waterway, reported Reuters.
The latest discussions follow an earlier 14-point Memorandum of Understanding reached in Pakistan. Araghchi said Iran had been implementing Clause 5 of that agreement, under which shipping traffic was expected to return to normal within a month, reported Al Jazeera.
He said traffic had reached 60% of normal levels within two weeks before the United States allegedly sought to establish new routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has objected to those changes.
Araghchi said the previous traffic separation arrangement was no longer acceptable to Tehran. He said the two sides were therefore discussing a temporary route while they worked on a permanent system.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also said on Saturday that reopening the Strait of Hormuz depended on Washington accepting Iran’s conditions and was separate from the talks with Oman. IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said Washington must stop interfering in regional negotiations. “Whenever the United States accepts Iran’s conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will certainly be reopened,” he said, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
Oman, meanwhile, has described its talks with Iran as “positive and constructive” and condemned repeated attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, reported Reuters citing Iran’s state news agency.
Importance of Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important shipping routes for energy supplies. Before the US-Iran and Israel conflict, the waterway carried about one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments, reported Reuters.
The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that Iran had attacked a carrier linked to its state oil company with a missile while it was travelling through the Strait of Hormuz. No injuries were reported in that incident, according to Reuters report. However, the Iranian authorities did not issue any official statement on the UAE’s claim.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said on Friday that 15 of its vessels had been struck since the conflict began, reported Reuters. The company said one crew member had been killed and 20 others wounded.
Iranian media have reported attacks on ships that Tehran says violated its instructions for passing through the waterway. However, those reports often did not identify Iran as responsible for the attacks, reported Reuters.
Washington has maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has sought greater control over shipping through the waterway.
A Reuters report earlier this week said a proposed agreement could give Iran some control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait. A senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters that the arrangement could allow Tehran to control access to vessels entering the Gulf.
US officials have previously opposed giving Iran control over access to the strategic energy route.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he believed the conflict with Iran could end “pretty soon”. He also expressed optimism about negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz. “I think we’re doing very well. I am involved in the negotiations. I think we are doing fine… it could be soon,” Trump said.
Trump also said the US Navy controlled the blockade but warned that even a single mine in the waterway could discourage shipping companies from sending expensive vessels through the area.
Araghchi said the negotiations were close to an agreement, but additional conditions would have to be addressed before Tehran considered the waterway reopened.