TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: Iran and Oman have agreed to a route for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and are putting the final touches on arrangements for jointly managing the passage, Tehran’s foreign ministry said Wednesday.
“The geographical coordinates of the route envisaged by the two sides have been agreed upon and, if certain third parties do not obstruct the process, the joint statement of the two countries, containing the main considerations and points of agreement, is also in the final review and drafting stage,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, according to state news agency IRNA.
The foreign ministry blamed the United States for continuing insecurity in the strait.
“The Iran-Oman understanding in and of itself cannot mean that the strait has become safe for passing ships, because the factors making the Strait of Hormuz insecure — stemming from the United States, especially the naval blockade and other threatening actions and measures against Iran and its interests — still exist.”
Asked about possible visits by Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf or Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Pakistan or Qatar, Baghaei said no such trips were planned.
The proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters.
According to the senior Iranian official, Iran is seeking fees of between 5 percent and 7 percent of the value of cargoes carried by ships using the strait. Oman is discussing fees of around 3 percent, while Washington wants no fees at all.
One regional source said Gulf negotiators insist regional countries should supervise inspections of ships and that any payment of fees should be voluntary.
The senior Iranian source said the draft agreement envisages Iran having control of ships heading into the Gulf through the strait, with one of the remaining sticking points being Tehran’s role over outbound traffic.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi later said commercial ships would pass through Iranian territorial waters on both inbound and outbound journeys and that talks with Oman had reached “fundamental understandings” on maritime routes.
He rejected reports that Iran was negotiating directly with the United States over Hormuz, describing discussions as strictly bilateral with Oman.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump warned Iran it would be “hit very hard” unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened “very soon.”
“The strait is going to be open very soon, or they’re going to get hit very hard — and then the strait’s going to be open,” Trump told Fox News, adding later that he believed a deal could happen “tomorrow or the next day.”
Axios reported that the United States, Iran and Oman were close to a 60-day interim arrangement for safe passage through the waterway.
Iran has also warned Gulf states that any new US attack on its territory would trigger retaliation against critical energy infrastructure across the region, according to five sources.
Two senior Iranian officials, two Gulf sources and a senior regional diplomat said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with his Saudi, Turkish and Qatari counterparts as well as Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Araghchi urged Washington’s Gulf allies to use their influence with Trump to prevent renewed strikes, warning that any attack on Iran would prompt retaliation against US assets and Gulf energy facilities.
“The Iranian warning was unequivocal: if America targeted Iran’s infrastructure, they would retaliate by striking Gulf energy facilities and other regional targets,” one Gulf source said.
The warning was primarily conveyed through Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman subsequently spoke with Trump, urging him to delay military action, return to negotiations and pursue a diplomatic settlement, according to the senior diplomat and Gulf sources.
Saudi Arabia also made clear it would defend itself if threatened.
One Iranian official said Tehran’s warning covered energy facilities, refineries, electricity grids, water infrastructure, transport networks and oil fields across the Gulf.
“They still remember Saudi Arabia’s Aramco,” the official said, referring to the 2019 attacks that temporarily knocked out more than half the kingdom’s crude oil production.
One of the principal obstacles to an agreement, the senior regional diplomat said, is Washington’s reluctance to allow
Tehran to emerge claiming victory.
Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also discussed efforts to narrow differences between Washington and Tehran during a telephone conversation.
Senior US officials expressed optimism.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said progress had been made, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said a deal could be reached soon.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said diplomatic contacts had reached “very progressive stages.”
He said Qatar, Pakistan and Oman were coordinating closely to facilitate negotiations and exchange draft proposals between Washington and Tehran.
A senior Pakistani security official said: “Our sole goal at this moment is to make both parties at least agree to start talking.”
Al Arabiya, quoting Pakistani sources, reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir are expected to visit Saudi Arabia today (Thursday).
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in an interview with state television, said interaction with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was currently “very difficult.”
Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser described any closure of the Strait of Hormuz as the “largest oil supply shock in history,” saying global markets had already lost more than 2.6 billion barrels of supplies since the crisis began.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein also stressed the need to ensure Iraqi territory is not used as a platform for aggression against neighbouring countries.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed they attacked a Saudi oil tanker off Yanbu in the Red Sea, saying it was the eighth Saudi tanker targeted since the start of their blockade on July 22.
Separately, a vessel in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait sank after being attacked by an uncrewed surface vessel, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre.
