Iran has announced that an agreement with Oman concerning new shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz is in its final stages. However, Tehran emphasized that the waterway will only open once the United States meets additional conditions.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi confirmed on Sunday that the arrangement is nearing completion. According to him, this agreement will establish new routes to be utilized after Washington fulfills Iran's demands.
Araqchi reiterated an earlier stance, stating that the Strait would not reopen on its own. Conditions include compensation from the US for attacks, an end to threats, a halt to aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq, as well as the lifting of blockades and sanctions, and the release of Iranian assets.
There are no direct negotiations between Iran and the United States. Tehran has no intention of initiating them as long as Washington violates the interim agreement from June. Messages are being conveyed through intermediaries.
The Strait, which previously accounted for a fifth of global oil and LNG supplies, was closed by Iran in response to strikes by the US and Israel. An American official previously told Reuters that an agreement with Oman was imminent and could soon resume traffic.
On Saturday, the UAE reported an Iranian attack on a vessel linked to its state oil company. Iran has not yet commented on the incident.
Decisions in Iran are made by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the February strikes. President Masoud Pezeshkian met with him in late July.
