Iran-Oman Hormuz transit deal awaits US commitments

Shafaq News- Tehran

Iran and Oman have reached a deal on transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, but its implementation depends on the United States fulfilling its commitments, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said.

Gharibabadi told Iran’s ISNA news agency that Hormuz remains closed and that any vessel passing through the waterway would require coordination with and approval from Tehran. Iran’s armed forces have “full oversight” of movements through the strait and denied reports that vessels were passing without coordination.

He added that the understanding demonstrated Iran’s readiness to return to diplomacy, but the United States had halted implementation of its commitments. “If Washington takes the necessary steps, Tehran will also take reciprocal measures,” he said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told state television on Friday that Tehran was prepared to open an agreed transit route through Hormuz if the United States met several demands, including lifting sanctions on Iran’s fuel and petrochemical sectors, releasing frozen Iranian funds and allowing investment to resume.

The White House and US Central Command, meanwhile, said the strait is under their control and that US forces control the movement of vessels entering and leaving the waterway.

The Iran-Oman talks on the Strait of Hormuz formally began on June 23, when the two countries established a joint working group in Muscat under a Pakistan-mediated US-Iran memorandum signed earlier that month. After the broader framework stalled over compliance disputes, Tehran and Muscat moved to direct negotiations in late July on shipping routes, mine clearance and management of the waterway. On August 26, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the two sides had agreed on their respective shares of Hormuz waters and revenues.