Iran says close to Hormuz plan with Oman, but reopening depends on US

Iran and Oman have reached agreement on a designated transit route through the Strait of Hormuz and are completing details for joint management of the waterway, according to statements from Tehran on Wednesday. The arrangement is presented as a potential step toward resuming commercial traffic, though Iranian officials have stated that full reopening remains tied to the United States ending its naval enforcement actions near Iranian ports.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the geographical coordinates for the proposed route have been settled. He added that a joint statement outlining the main points of agreement is in final review, provided no external parties intervene. Baqaei noted that talks with Oman are advancing, yet he emphasized that any accord would not automatically render the strait secure for all vessels.

"The factors making the Strait of Hormuz insecure still exist on the part of the United States, particularly the naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions against Iran and its interests," Baqaei told state news agency IRNA. Iranian authorities have maintained de facto oversight of passages since the United States and Israel conducted military strikes on Iran beginning February 28. Tehran has directed ships toward routes along its coastline and has indicated it intends to manage traffic and apply transit fees, measures the United States has opposed on security grounds.

US President Donald Trump has stated that Iran seeks an agreement to restore access to the strait. Iranian officials have rejected that characterization and said arrangements would be made directly with Oman rather than through Washington. The United States has conducted naval operations that restrict Iranian port access as part of its response to the ongoing conflict.

An oil tanker captain reported two explosions nine nautical miles southeast of Kumzar, Oman, while transiting the strait, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency. The vessel and crew were reported safe. Yemen’s Houthis separately claimed missile strikes on two Saudi oil tankers, the Wafa off Yanbu in the northern Red Sea and the Daisy in the Gulf of Aden. Saudi authorities have not issued an immediate response. These incidents mark the eighth and ninth such attacks since the Houthis began their own restrictions on Saudi shipping last month.

Prior to the February 28 strikes, the Strait of Hormuz handled roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports. Shipping disruptions since then have contributed to repeated increases in energy prices. US Vice President JD Vance described negotiations with Iran as complicated by internal divisions in Tehran. “It’s going to be messy and it’s going to take some time to get there,” Vance said in a Fox News interview. He added that “the Iranians are extraordinarily difficult people” and “they have a fractured system.”

Iran has required vessels to follow its preferred coastal route after imposing restrictions on the strait. Some ships have instead used passages nearer to Oman, where they have occasionally encountered fire. Tehran’s proposal to administer the waterway and collect fees represents an expansion of authority it did not hold before the conflict, a change Washington has said it would resist. Trump has alternated between threats of additional strikes, including on civilian infrastructure, and indications that an agreement might be close. Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denied that direct talks with the United States are underway.

The pattern of statements from both sides has continued without resolution. Iranian officials maintain that security conditions depend on an end to US naval measures, while US representatives point to Iranian route controls and fee plans as obstacles to broader access.