Ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Monday. [Reuters]
Ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Monday. [Reuters]

Iran and Oman have agreed on the geographic coordinates of a safe shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Wednesday.

According to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, Baghaei said the two coastal states bordering the strait had spent the past two months in negotiations aimed at establishing a secure passage for merchant vessels. "Iran's relevant authorities have conducted an in-depth review of various aspects of this matter, including technical, legal, security and environmental considerations," he said.

Baghaei said "an agreement has been reached on the geographic coordinates of the proposed route," adding that a joint statement capturing the key considerations and points of agreement was under review and being finalized.

He drew a line on the scope of the deal, however, saying that destabilizing factors — including a US maritime blockade and aggressive and threatening actions targeting Iran and its interests — still existed in the strait. "Therefore, the agreement between Iran and Oman alone cannot fully guarantee the safety of vessels transiting the waterway," he said.

Baghaei also said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker who leads Iran's end-of-war negotiating team, had no plans to make an unannounced visit to Pakistan or Qatar this weekend. Both countries have served as intermediaries between Iran and the United States. He added, however, that Pakistan and Qatar were continuing their efforts to ease regional tensions and that Iran remained in ongoing contact with both countries to exchange views.

On the Hormuz route agreement with Oman, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that if the new arrangement were implemented, existing temporary lanes in the strait would be closed and a significant portion of the route for vessels entering and exiting the waterway would pass through Iranian territorial waters. He drew a line nonetheless, saying the agreement with Oman "does not mean the full opening of the Strait of Hormuz."

Gharibabadi stressed that specific conditions must be met for the strait to be opened and that any related agreement must be reached solely between Iran and Oman. "No foreign interference will be tolerated," he said. He went on to say that the route being coordinated with Oman was temporary in nature, intended to operate for two to four months, but that extending the duration of the temporary lane was also being discussed in the negotiations with Oman.

Gharibabadi also outlined Iran's position on the state of negotiations with the United States. He acknowledged that Washington had sent messages requesting talks and a resolution of issues roughly four to five days after a new conflict broke out, but said flatly: "Iran has not engaged in any negotiations with the United States recently."

Meanwhile, AP reported, citing multiple Middle Eastern officials, that Iranian and Omani negotiating teams had finalized a draft agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with only the final approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei remaining.

Officials familiar with the negotiations said the draft was intended as a temporary solution to the dispute over the strait and that, if concluded, it could open the door for the United States and Iran to resume negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.

A source who spoke to Reuters said "concessions giving some form of control over the Strait of Hormuz have already been made," while another source said details on how to define that control were still being discussed.

According to a senior Iranian source, the draft agreement currently on the table grants Iran control over vessels entering the Gulf through the strait. The central sticking point is what role, if any, Iran would play over ships sailing in the opposite direction.


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