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Final-stage Hormuz talks
Iran and Oman are in the final stages of drafting an agreement on how to handle commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Wednesday.
“could happen" as soon as Wednesday or Thursday.”
Baghaei spoke at a news conference hours after President Donald Trump said a U.S. deal with Iran to reopen the strait "could happen" as soon as Wednesday or Thursday.
Baghaei and Oman said in a joint statement that the Persian Gulf neighbors have been engaged in talks for the past two months "with the aim of determining a safe traffic route for commercial shipping in this strait."
The CNBC report said the proposed deal would give Tehran more control over vessels passing through the vital oil shipping route, citing a senior Iranian source and two regional officials, while Reuters sources pushed back on Trump’s assertions.
The same CNBC article said crossings through the strait, the pathway for 20% of the world’s oil before the U.S.-Iran war’s start in February, remain sharply constrained, even as U.S. Central Command insisted in an X post that the "southern route through the Strait of Hormuz remains free and open for all commercial vessels".
What each side wants
Al Jazeera said the proposed interim agreement is intended to restore the June 17 ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, resolve disputes over shipping through the strategic waterway, and create space for broader negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.
In the same Al Jazeera report, Trump told reporters negotiations with Iran were “moving along very nicely” and added, “We’ll find out. We’ll know in 48 hours,” when asked whether a deal was imminent.
The Associated Press reporting carried by the Orange County Register said the agreement is likely to be contingent on the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports, and it described Iran’s position that it will not go back to being an open international waterway as it was before the war.
The Orange County Register also reported that Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the agreement with Oman is in the “final stage” of drafting, and that a joint statement will be issued “if certain parties do not obstruct this process,” apparently referring to the U.S.
Reuters-cited details in the Iran International report said the dispute includes whether Iran could collect service or transit fees, with Washington opposing any charges, and it said Iran is seeking a role in monitoring vessels leaving the Persian Gulf.
Shipping disruption and next steps
Al Jazeera reported that on Tuesday the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said a cargo ship had been struck by an unidentified projectile off Oman, while commercial traffic through the waterway remained heavily disrupted.
“Only eight vessels transited the strait on Monday”
The Al Jazeera report said only eight vessels transited the strait on Monday, compared with roughly 130 ships per day before the US-Israel war on Iran erupted on February 28, and it said the situation raised concerns that prolonged disruptions could send oil prices sharply higher.
The Orange County Register said the potential deal could potentially reopen the critical waterway, ease pressure on the world economy and help bring an end to the war, but it also said the Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would cement Iran’s grip over the strait.
In the same Orange County Register account, it said regional officials told the Associated Press that the potential deal would be a temporary solution tied to an agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran in June that aimed at ending the fighting and reopening the waterway but ultimately collapsed.
CNBC added that Trump once again threatened that Iran will "get hit really hard" if the purported talks fall through, while U.S. Central Command insisted the southern route remains free and open for commercial vessels seeking to transit the international waterway.