Iran says understanding reached with Oman over new Hormuz route map
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran on Monday that “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route.”
Iran said on Monday that it had reached an understanding with Oman on a route map for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, as the two countries move closer to an agreement on managing traffic through the critical energy waterway.
What happened: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route.” Baghaei did not elaborate further, but previous reports have suggested that ships would enter through the route close to Iran and exit through a route close to Oman, with vessels initially transiting without tolls.
Currently, there are three routes in the Strait of Hormuz: one through Iran's territorial waters, the pre-war route in the middle of the strait and the International Maritime Organization route that traverses Oman's waters in the south of the strait. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has attacked vessels going through all three routes.
Negotiations between Iran and Oman on a separate, new route and management of the waterway began around three months ago, and throughout the process, Iran has emphasized that the bilateral agreement was independent of whether a deal was reached with the US to reopen the waterway.
Baghaei said the talks with the US to reopen the strait were “contingent upon the removal of the conditions” imposed by the US. Iran has also demanded that Washington lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports imposed in April and pay war reparations.
Baghaei conceded the talks had gone slowly, “but we had planned, and still plan, to finalize the understanding in the form of a package: the map plus a joint statement.”
Why it matters: It is unclear whether the agreement aligns with the full reopening Washington wants — where ships do not have to pay Iran tolls and can freely and safely navigate the strait.
The Strait of Hormuz — which before the war saw around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass through it — has been nearly completely closed since the beginning of the US-Israel-Iran war on Feb. 28, causing a global energy shock and sending crude prices spiking. International benchmark Brent crude prices peaked at nearly $115 per barrel in early May after hovering around $70 before the war.
Responding to the news that Iran and Oman had agreed on a Hormuz route on Monday, US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a potential deal between Washington and Tehran.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump told Fox News.
The Trump administration has said several times that it is close to striking a deal with Iran to reopen the strait, stop the fighting and curb Tehran’s nuclear program. Tehran has denied that it is negotiating with Washington.
Trump said Monday that informal talks are taking place with the IRGC but insisted the US is in no rush to make a deal.
“They’re good poker players, but they’re dying,” Trump added. “I have no time schedule. I’m not in a hurry.”
Comments by Baghaei and Trump came on the same day that the 60-day deadline expired for a 14-point memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war between Iran and the US. The memorandum calls for a cessation of hostilities, limits on Iran’s uranium enrichment and the full, toll-free reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Baghaei said Monday that the deadline was “irrelevant,” arguing that Washington had violated the agreement early on.
“We did not begin any negotiations because a few weeks after the signing, widespread violations of the agreement began, thereby rendering the 60-day provision irrelevant,” he said.
The memorandum did not end hostilities between Iran and the US, with both sides launching several missile strikes, including in the Strait of Hormuz.
Know more: Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz ground to a halt over the weekend with no signs of a ceasefire deal between Iran and the US. Only three ships passed through the waterway on Sunday, according to data from maritime analytics firm Kpler.
