US offers to release $6 billion in frozen assets first

Iran insists it controls the Strait of Hormuz

Oman's 'voluntary contribution' compromise gains no traction

Strait traffic drops sharply from 75 to 43 vessels in a week

The Strait of Hormuz [AP]
The Strait of Hormuz [AP]

By Seo Ji-yeon, The Herald Business

Post-war follow-up negotiations between the United States and Iran remain deadlocked after Washington offered to release a portion of Tehran's frozen overseas assets — only for Iran to reject the overture and hold firm on its plan to impose transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz. The two sides have been unable to narrow their differences over control of the waterway, and disruptions to maritime shipping continue.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that during indirect working-level talks in Doha, Qatar, the US proposed releasing a portion of Iran's frozen assets on the condition that Tehran abandon its toll plan — an offer Iran declined.

According to the report, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, relayed a message to Iran through an intermediary: if Tehran dropped its claim to control the Strait of Hormuz and scrapped its toll plan, the US would allow Iran access to billions of dollars of its frozen overseas funds.

Earlier, following the signing of a post-war memorandum of understanding, the US had been pursuing a plan to allow Iran to use $6 billion held in Qatar — out of roughly $100 billion in Iranian funds frozen worldwide — for purchases of humanitarian goods. But those discussions have also stalled as Iran continues to assert control over the strait, the WSJ reported.

Iran maintained a hard line publicly as well. Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister who led the working-level talks, said after the Doha meeting that "the Strait of Hormuz is under Iran's command, not America's."

Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which oversees Iran's armed forces, also issued a statement warning that "vessels that deviate from designated routes or violate navigation regulations will face an immediate and strong response."

Under the post-war MOU, Iran is currently waiving transit fees for 60 days but has maintained that it will impose charges afterward under the guise of maritime safety services. Market analysts estimate that if the system takes effect, Iran could earn up to $40 billion annually.

As negotiations hit a wall, Oman put forward a new compromise. Rather than imposing mandatory tolls on vessels using the strait, Oman suggested that oil and shipping companies voluntarily pool funds to support maritime safety services.

Iran, however, has remained cool to the idea, objecting that the arrangement would not constitute a mandatory fee.

Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London think tank Chatham House, said Iran "is trying to open the strait on its own terms and is reluctant to give up the negotiating leverage it has secured so far."

The US is also concerned that Oman's proposal could effectively function as an indirect toll system that still delivers economic benefits to Iran.

The negotiating impasse is taking a toll on maritime logistics. According to market research firm Kpler, 43 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, down sharply from 75 a week earlier. Before the war, more than 100 ships used the strait each day.


sjy@heraldcorp.com