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Iran-Oman talks, conditions
Iran and Oman reached agreements on how to share control and revenue from the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday, as the two countries continued talks on restoring shipping through the key waterway.
“Iran, however, said the Strait will not reopen unless the United States agrees to its conditions.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said the Strait will not reopen unless the United States agrees to Iran’s conditions, and he accused the United States of holding up the talks between Iran and Oman.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi said after meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that he hoped the two countries would soon announce a temporary corridor, while Araghchi said the proposed deal showed Iran’s commitment to peace and stability.
The Reuters account said the Strait of Hormuz has remained largely closed to normal shipping since the United States and Israel began their war against Iran on Feb. 28, and it cited US President Donald Trump saying mines had been removed and that the Strait was open.
In the same Reuters report, Iran rejected Trump’s claims and said only officials in the country know where the explosives are located, while the head of the International Maritime Organisation said last week that the Strait was not open and that there was no confirmation that the mines had been removed.
IRGC: complete control
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said the Strait of Hormuz is closed to all ships seeking passage without coordination with Iran, and it said the closure will continue until the U.S. adheres to its commitments.
In a statement carried by Mehr News Agency, the IRGC Navy said it has "decisive control" over the Strait of Hormuz and rejected U.S. claims that the waterway is open as lies intended to control oil prices and mask American failures.
Press TV also quoted the IRGC Navy saying, "The control exercised by the Islamic Republic’s forces over the strategic Strait of Hormuz is complete and decisive," and it described U.S. claims of openness as "an outright lie."
The IRGC Navy said the strait is closed to vessels seeking to transit without prior coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and it tied the situation to the end of the United States’ "terrorist army’s aggression" against Iran and fulfillment of relevant obligations.
Shafaq News reported that the IRGC Navy claimed "full control" of the Strait of Hormuz and described U.S. statements that the strait remains open as a "clear lie," while Axios was cited as saying Iran has lost much of its control and the U.S. military effectively controls most areas.
US claims mines cleared
While Iran’s IRGC Navy rejected U.S. claims of open transit, US Central Command commander Brad Cooper said US forces cleared the shipping lanes of mines "laid months ago by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps" in Hormuz and called it a "major milestone."
“US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Brad Cooper earlier on Friday announced that US forces cleared the shipping lanes of mines”
Rudaw reported that Cooper said "Today international shipping lanes are open, and momentum is building," and it described the Strait of Hormuz as seeing 101 ships transited outbound and 103 ships fully transited inbound in UK Maritime Trade Operations’ weekly report.
Rudaw also quoted Cooper saying nearly 50,000 US troops deployed in the region are continuing to execute "the naval blockade against Iran while maintaining commercial traffic flow through the Strait," and it said US forces assisted nearly 1,500 commercial vessels by providing coordinated protection.
In the same Rudaw account, Cooper said "Iran, he affirmed, "has exported zero oil from its shores since we resumed the naval blockade in mid-July," and it added that no ships have entered or left an Iranian port without permission.
The dispute over reopening and control continued alongside Iran’s insistence that passage requires coordination with Iranian authorities, with Al-Bawābah News stating that Iranian forces imposed control and that ships must coordinate with Iran until what it described as American military actions end and Tehran’s demanded commitments are implemented.