Iran, Oman agree on new Strait of Hormuz routes; Tehran sets conditions for reopening

Tehran/Doha: Iran and Oman have agreed on details of new entry and exit routes for the Strait of Hormuz and will brief Gulf countries on the outcome of their consultations at a regional meeting in Muscat on Monday, Iranian officials said.

Citing a source close to Iran's negotiating team, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the understanding was reached following “intensive technical and diplomatic talks” between Iran and Oman, which concluded with a final agreement in late August.

Under the arrangement, the entry route into the Gulf will lie entirely within Iranian territorial waters, while part of the exit route will also pass through Iranian waters, the source said.

New route to operate under Iranian arrangements

The source said the route would operate under Iranian arrangements and that the southern route of the waterway would be closed once the new system becomes operational.

The source also said the United States had insisted that the southern route should be opened.

However, the understanding does not mean that the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened, the source stressed.

Iran has seven conditions for reopening the strategic waterway and has conveyed them to the United States, the source said.

The waterway will remain closed unless those conditions are implemented, with any decision to reopen it depending on US actions, Xinhua news agency reported.

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Gulf foreign ministers to be briefed

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday that foreign ministers from Gulf littoral states are scheduled to meet in Oman on Monday to discuss regional issues, including the Iran-Oman consultations on establishing safe routes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, Baghaei said the meeting would “hopefully” include foreign ministers from Gulf states as well as Iran and Iraq.

He said the participants would be briefed on the outcome of Iran and Oman's consultations on safe passage for ships through the waterway.

Baghaei noted that the consultations were conducted by Iran and Oman as the two coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz.
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Proposed temporary shipping corridor

Late last month, Iran and Oman said in a joint statement that they had exchanged views on a proposed phased framework that includes establishing a temporary joint shipping corridor in the strait.

Following US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, Tehran restricted passage through the strategic waterway, while US forces imposed a naval blockade targeting vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports.

The Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf with the Arabian Sea and is one of the world's most important routes for oil and gas shipments.

Iran and Oman sit on opposite sides of the strait and have continued consultations on maritime security and navigation in the strategically important waterway.

(With ANI inputs)