IRAN and Oman have agreed the geographic coordinates of a commercial shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
They are reported to be in the final stage of drafting a joint statement, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, provided ‘certain third parties’ do not interfere.
Iranian diplomatic sources indicated an announcement could come shortly with one or two issues still open.
Baghaei rejected suggestions that a bilateral understanding with Muscat would in itself reopen the waterway, saying restrictions flow from the security situation created by American and Israeli military action against Iran.
An agreement ‘cannot in itself be interpreted as meaning the Strait has become safe for passing vessels’, he said, pointing to US naval deployments and the blockade of Iranian ports.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi set out conditions for reopening.
Washington had broken its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, restored a naval blockade of Iranian ports, resumed hostilities and failed to help stabilise Lebanon, he said.
‘These are among the requirements, and we have to see what developments will take place in these areas.’
New sanctions have been imposed, restrictions temporarily lifted in the oil sector reinstated, and talks on releasing frozen Iranian assets halted.
Any understanding on the strait should be reached between Iran and Oman alone, he said.
A government source told the state broadcaster IRIB that the talks have ‘nothing to do’ with the United States and that the waterway will stay closed while ‘US violations’ continue.
A senior Iranian source said that Tehran wants control over inbound traffic and oversight of outbound vessels, with the power to intervene, and has already moved from an opening demand for control in both directions.
Rob Geist Pinfold, a lecturer in international security at King’s College London, said the emerging arrangement is more detailed than the memorandum signed by Washington and Tehran on 17th June, with two lanes, one hugging the Omani coast and the Emirates, the other running along the Iranian coast.
He called the lanes ‘a breakthrough’ while noting the charging dispute. ‘Iran wants 5 per cent, Oman has suggested 3 per cent and the US wants no fees at all,’ he said.
‘We may see some creative ambiguity here where the terminology is changed, but it looks enough like fees for Iran to agree to it.’
Service and maritime charges tied to de-mining remain contentious, with Tehran insisting the clearance work be done by Iran.
Geist Pinfold doubted the arrangement would hold for long.
‘It is unlikely that this will be a permanent solution; it doesn’t talk about the middle of the strait,’ he said, adding that the centre of the channel may be mined and that traffic is unlikely to return to pre-war levels.
Eight vessels transited on Tuesday, the second consecutive day at that figure, according to shipping data firm Kpler. Between 130 and 140 ships passed daily before the war.