Iran and Oman have made progress in negotiations on a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, having agreed on the geographical coordinates, Esmail Bakai, a spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on 5 August.
Tehran and Muscat have been holding talks over the past few months, discussing various aspects of the proposed route, Bakai said, adding that the two countries had almost finalised the agreement, “provided that certain third parties do not obstruct the process”.
Earlier that same day, US President Donald Trump stated that the vital waterway would be reopened “soon”, threatening to strike Iran “very hard” if Tehran refused to negotiate its reopening. “They understand this. I have no choice,” he added.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump also said that “very good talks” were continuing with the Iranian authorities. However, Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported that, according to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, no talks had taken place between Washington and Tehran in recent days.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has long been one of the central issues in the conflict between the United States and Iran and one of the main obstacles to a negotiated settlement, aimed at ending the wider conflict in the Middle East.
From the very first days of the war, Tehran restricted access to the waterway, disrupting global oil markets and leading to a sharp rise in oil prices. In the months that followed, Iran also attempted to impose tolls on ships passing through the strait, a move the United States described as unacceptable.