TEHRAN – The wait for an Iran-Oman deal that partially reopens the Strait of Hormuz continued into Aug 6, after Tehran said an agreement on proposed shipping lanes was in the final stages.
The two countries that border the crucial waterway have been negotiating a plan for the management of maritime traffic through the strait since July. In recent days, Iran and the US have indicated a resolution is close.
“An understanding in principle has been reached on almost all the raised issues, including the map for maritime traffic entry and exit routes,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told the Islamic Republic News Agency on Aug 4.
Yet, he cautioned that a bilateral deal with Muscat “does not mean the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz”.
Tehran has insisted the US is not part of the agreement with Oman, and hinted that a normalisation of the strait will depend on Washington lifting its blockade on Iranian ports.
A joint statement from Tehran and Muscat is under review and in the final drafting stage, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters on Aug 5.
Negotiations between the two countries were “forward-moving”, and a deal would be struck “if certain third parties do not obstruct this process”, he said.
Baghaei did not mention any role of Washington, except to say the closure of the strait was a result of attacks by the US and Israel.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the announcement.
Any deal for the Strait of Hormuz would have to be approved by Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has been in hiding since being injured in the initial attacks in the war with the US and Israel in February.
It was unclear if he had given his consent yet, and Iranian officials have said that communicating with him takes time.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a televised interview on Aug 5 that communication with Khamenei has become “very difficult at the moment”.
US President Donald Trump said late on Aug 4 that a deal on the Strait of Hormuz is imminent. He has repeatedly claimed diplomatic breakthroughs in the past, only for a lasting agreement to prove elusive.
The waiting pattern was reflected in oil markets, where prices swung between small gains and losses as traders assessed the likelihood of a speedy increase in oil flows from the Persian Gulf. Brent crude traded up slightly to US$79.60 a barrel on Aug 6.
Iran’s latest announcement on Hormuz comes after months of deadlock between the US and Tehran over how to conclude the war, with control over shipping through the waterway a particular sticking point.
Tehran has demanded that vessels obtain permission to cross and pay fees to transit, and has attacked ships it deems to be in violation. The US, in turn, has blockaded Iranian ports.
The issue led to the collapse of a ceasefire and interim peace agreement in July.
While fighting between the sides has paused for now, a number of other issues remain unresolved – not least Iran’s nuclear programme – and there has not been an agreement to start formal negotiations.
A ‘temporary route’
Iranian state TV earlier played down the outcome of the Iran-Oman discussions, citing a person familiar with the matter as saying an agreement between Tehran and Muscat would not necessarily mean the strait would open immediately. That would be contingent “on a change in US behaviour”, according to the report.
Gharibabadi, the deputy foreign minister, said Iran and Oman were negotiating a “temporary route” that would remain active for two to four months, with a significant portion of traffic passing through Iran’s territorial waters.
“This understanding does not mean the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
In a Fox News interview recorded on Aug 4, Trump repeated a threat that if Iran does not “make a deal, it’s going to be too bad”.
Over the weekend, he held off on attacks he said would have been the largest since World War II.
Trump told reporters in Los Angeles late on Aug 4 that talks with Iran are “moving along very nicely”, adding: “We’ll know in 48 hours.”
Iran’s stance on Hormuz has complicated Trump’s efforts to turn the page on a war – now in its sixth month – that he claimed would take only weeks.
Shipping disruptions in Hormuz have raised energy prices globally and pose a particular threat to Trump and his Republican Party at home, where American voters are already feeling pinched by high costs ahead of November midterm elections.
While visible traffic through the strait has been limited, millions of barrels a day have continued to cross the waterway even during periods of elevated hostility in recent weeks. Middle Eastern producers have ferried cargoes out of the gulf as part of a shuttle programme put in place by several countries in the region.
Even with a deal to reopen Hormuz, it is likely that at least some shuttling will continue as shipowners weigh whether to take the risk of sailing back into the Persian Gulf. BLOOMBERG
