Iran and Oman have finalized a draft agreement for a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Bloomberg — the clearest sign yet that reopening talks are nearing completion. The draft awaits approval from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who took office in March after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the US-Israeli strikes that opened the war on February 28.
The proposed arrangement would route vessels into the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled channel and out via an Oman-controlled corridor, with Iran charging service fees for passage. According to The Globe and Mail, Washington remains strongly opposed to any fee arrangement, and any final deal is likely contingent on the US lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Trump said Tuesday an announcement “could happen tomorrow or the next day.” But events on the water tell a different story: Al Jazeera reports Iran’s Foreign Ministry says a joint statement depends on “certain third parties” not obstructing the process — an apparent reference to Washington — while a cargo ship was struck by an unidentified projectile off Oman on Tuesday, a sign that pressure on the strait has not eased.
About a fifth of global oil and gas normally transits the strait; the closure has kept fuel prices elevated for five months.
