Iran says it has reached an agreement with Oman on a route for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, though details remain scarce. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the deal was “in the final stages” but offered no further specifics. He cautioned that even a finalised deal with Oman would not guarantee safe navigation through the strait, arguing that security remains compromised by the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports. Neither the US nor Oman has commented on the proposal.
Since the US and Israel struck Iran in February, Tehran has largely blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump warned Iran would be “hit very hard” if the strait did not reopen “very soon,” a statement that followed reports from senior US officials that talks had progressed enough to potentially allow shipments to resume later this week. Iran, however, maintains it is not negotiating with Washington and has no plans to do so.
Reopening the strait has become a central point in discussions between the two countries and their mediators. Baqaei said the “geographical coordinates of the route” had been agreed with Oman, but insisted the underlying insecurity remains unresolved. “The factors making the Strait of Hormuz insecure still exist on the part of the United States, particularly the naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions against Iran and its interests,” he said, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi later told IRNA that the proposed route would be temporary, likely remaining open for two to four months, without offering further detail.
Oil prices edged lower Thursday, with Brent crude down 0.3% at $79.24 a barrel in morning Asian trade, part of the wild price swings that have characterised the conflict as shipments through the vital corridor, carrying roughly 20% of global oil and LNG, have been severely disrupted. Traffic through the strait has dwindled sharply since the war began, with Iran requiring advance clearance for all passage and attacking vessels that ignore the requirement.
One of the central sticking points between Tehran and Washington has been Iran’s push to impose fees on vessels crossing the strait. According to a senior Iranian official cited by Reuters, Iran is seeking fees of between 5% and 7% of cargo value, while Oman is reportedly discussing a rate closer to 3%, and Washington wants no fees imposed at all. Reuters also reported that the proposed arrangement would give Tehran effective control over ships entering the Gulf via the strait.
In June, Iran and the US signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at halting the fighting, reopening the strait, and reaching a broader deal to end the war within 60 days. That agreement collapsed quickly, with diplomatic talks breaking down and tit-for-tat attacks resuming within days of signing. The US has since maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports, while a separate blockade has been in place on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports since July 20, imposed by Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen.
The US and Israel launched sweeping strikes on Iran on February 28, prompting Iranian retaliation against Israel and US-allied Gulf states and effectively closing the strait. Iran’s Supreme Leader at the time, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in that opening strike and succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was himself wounded in the same attack and has not appeared publicly since.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that communication with the younger Khamenei was “difficult at the moment,” though he described his presence as “a very great source of strength for us so that we can continue,” according to state media. Khamenei, who was absent from his father’s funeral last month, has communicated only through written statements, fuelling speculation about his standing with other top officials. Pezeshkian insisted he had held productive meetings with him, describing their exchanges as marked by “kindness and very sound logic,” and said, “unfortunately, the current situation allows some malicious people to describe him differently and to present a different image of him.”
